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THE 


CYCLOMDIA  OF  FRATERNITIES 


A   COMPILATION   OF 

EXISTING    AUTHENTIC    INFORMATION    AND     THE    RESULTS    OF 
ORIGINAL  INVESTIGATION   AS  TO  THE  ORIGIN,  DERIVA- 
TION, FOUNDERS,  DEVELOPMENT,  AIMS,  EMBLEMS, 
CHARACTER,  AND  PERSONNEL  OF 

MORE   THAN   SIX   HUNDRED   SECRET 
SOCIETIES   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES 

SUPPLEMENTED  BY 

FAMILY   TREES   OF   GROUPS  OF   SOCIETIES,  COMPARATIVE  STATISTICS 

OF  MEMBERSHIP,  CHARTS,  PLATES,  MAPS,  AND 

THE   NAMES   OF   MANY 

represe:n^tative  members. 


COMPILED  AXD  EDITED  BY 

ALBERT   C.  STEVENS 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR  OF  THE  STANTIARI)  DICTIOXARY  AND  FORMER  EDITOR  OF  "  BRADSTREET'S 

V 

ASSISTED  BY  MORE  TIIAX  ONE  THOUSAND 
MEMBERS   OF   LIVING   SECRET    SOCIETIES 


NEW  YORK  CITY: 
PATERSON,   N.  J.: 

HAMILTON   PRINTING   AND   PUBLISHING   COMPANY 

1899. 


w^ 


f.fXS^ 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1896,  by 
Albert  C.  Stevens,  in  the  OflBce  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress 


••iirw-Jf. 


THIS  BOOK   IS  DEDICATED 

TO 

THAT   UNIVERSAL   BROTHERHOOD, 

TO  WHICH,  IN  TRUTH,  BELONG  THE  GOOD  MEN  ANT>  TRUE  OF 

ALL  FRATERNITIES. 

—THE  AUTHOR. 


Dicitis  omnis  in  imbecilitate  est  et  graiia,  et  caritas. — Cicero. 


Reason,  it  is  certain,  would  oTjluje  every  man  to  inirsue 
the  general  liamnness  as  the  means  to  procure  and  establish  his 
own ;  and  yet,  if,  besides  this  consideration,  there  were  not  a 
natural  instinct  'promiAing  men  to  desire  the  welfare  and  satis- 
faction of  others,  self-love,  in  defiance  of  the  admonitions  of 
reason,  would  quichly  rtm  all  things  into  a  state  of  war  and 
confusion. — The  Spectator,  Sept.  1,  1714. 


PREFACE 


Ix  the  Cyclop^i::dia  of  Fraternities 
the  first  attempt  is  made,  so  far  as  known, 
to  trace,  from  a  sociological  point  of  view, 
the  development  of  Secret  Societies  in  the 
United  States. 

Freemasonry,  of  course,  is  shown  to  be 
the  mother  fraternity  in  fact,  as  well  as 
in  name;  but  particular  interest  will  attach 
to  details  connecting  many  of  the  more 
important  fraternities  with  Freemasonry. 
Broader,  and  fully  as  interesting{is  the  fact 
that  in  free  and  democratic  America  there 
are  more  secret  societies  and  a  larger  ag- 
gregate membership  among  such  organiza- 
tions than  in  all  other  civilized  countries!^ 

The  probable  extent  of  the  influence  of 
secret  society  life  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  more  than  6,000,000  Americans 
are  members  of  300  such  organizations, 
which  confer  about  1,000  degrees  on  300,000 
novitiates  annually,  aided,  in  instances,  by 
a  Avealth  of  paraphernalia  and  dramatic  cere- 
monial which  rivals  modern  stage  eflPects. 
More  than  30,000  members  are  annually 
added  to  the  rolls  of  Masonic  Lodges  in  the 
United  States;  quite  as  many  join  the  Odd 
Fellows,  and  one-half  as  many  the  Knights 
of  Pythias;  more  than  100,000  join  other 
secret  societies,  the  lodges,  chapters,  or 
councils  of  which  dot  the  country  almost 
coincidently  with  the  erection  of  churches 
and  schoolhouses. 

C^It  is  rarely  that  one  in  ten  of  the  active 
members  of  secret  societies  is  familiar  with 
the  origin  and  growth  of  his  own  fraternity, 
and  not  one  in  a  hundred  has  a  fair  con- 
ception of  the  relation  of  his  own  organiza- 
tion to  like  societies,  or  of  the  origin  and 
evolution  of  leading  organizations  which 
form  the  secret  society  world-J  For  this 
reason  not  only  the  200,000  new  members 
of  such  societies  each  year,  but  older  breth- 
ren as  well,  should  find  in  the  Cyclop.-edia 
OF  Fraternities  a  valuable  supplement  to 


all  previously  acquired  information  on  the 
subject.  So  much  that  is  not  true  has 
been  written  about  secret  societies  by  their 
friends,  as  well  as  enemies,  and  so  much 
that  is  of  doubtful  authenticity  regarding 
them  appears  in  what  have  been  considered 
standard  works,  that  an  analytical  supple- 
mentary treatise  becomes  a  necessity. 

]\Iore  than  half  the  secret  societies  in  the 
United  States  pay  death,  sick,  accident,  dis- 
ability, funeral,  or  other  benefits.  They  are 
an  outgrowth  of  the  old  English  friendly 
societies  and  of  Masonic  influences,  and  are 
generally  described  as  beneficiary  and  char- 
itable organizations,  sometimes  as  fraternal 
orders.  Their  total  membership  is  enor- 
mous and  is  growing  rapidly.  The  move- 
ment represents  a  system  of  cooperative  in- 
surance, usually  characterized  as  "protec- 
tion," and  is  attracting  the  attention  of  not 
only  old  line  insurance  companies,  but  of 
legislatures  as  well. 

So  important  has  this  branch  of  secret 
society  life  become,  that  it  has  been  given 
extended  treatment  under  "  National  Fra- 
ternal Congress,"  which  chapter  is  contrib- 
uted by  Major  N.  S.  Boynton  of  Port  Hu- 
ron, Mich.  Returns  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
protection  or  benefits  given,  and  methods  of 
collecting  the  same,  with  costs  per  capita 
at  various  periods,  have  been  furnished  by 
nearly  all  the  large  beneficiary  societies, 
and  are  published  in  full.  The  accompany- 
ing analysis  and  comparison  are  by  Mr. 
Frank  Greene,  managing  editor  of  Brad- 
street's.  This  feature  should  prove  of  ex- 
ceptional interest  to  members  of  beneficiary 
orders. 

One  of  the  revelations  of  the  book  is  found 
in  the  reference  to  secret  sisterhoods  at- 
tached to  beneficiary  fraternities,  as  well 
as  separate  societies  of  women,  relatives  of 
members  of  brotherhoods,  numbering  alto- 
gether about  half  a  million  women.     Among 


PREFACE 


the  larger  are  the  Daughters  of  Eebekah, 
the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  Ladies  of  the 
Maccabees,  the  Eatlibone  Sisters,  Pythian 
Sisterhood,  the  Daughters  of  Liberty,  the 
Daughters  of  America,  and  others.  In  ad- 
dition, there  are  many  beneficiary  societies 
which  admit  both  men  and  women. 

The  results  of  an  examination  of  standard 
histories  of  Freemasonry,  condensed  for  the 
Cyclopaedia  of  Fkaternities,  ignore  un- 
corroborated traditions  as  to  origin  and 
growth,  but  embody  the  conclusions  of  the 
ablest  modern  Masonic  historians.  Supple- 
mentary chapters  on  Freemasonry  contain 
much  that  is  published  for  the  first  time. 
In  all  of  them  the  view-point  is  that  of  the 
inquiring  Freemason,  young  or  old.  Too 
much  is  left  nowadays  for  the  newly-made 
Master  Mason  to  find  out  by  studying  the 
thousand  and  one  books,  good,  bad,  and 
indifferent,  truthful  and  traditional,  with 
which  the  shelves  of  Masonic  libraries  are 
filled.  The  results  of  prolonged  investi- 
gation are  embodied  in  special  chapters 
on  "Freemasonry  among  Negroes,"  includ- 
ing the  English,  American,  and  Scottish 
Eites;  "  Freemasonry  among  the  Mormons," 
containing  original  matter  contributed  by 
brethren  familiar  with  the  work  of  the  Mor- 
mon Lodge  at  Nauvoo,  111.,  fifty  years  ago; 
and  "  Freemasonry  among  the  Chinese/' 
which  phrase  acquires  a  new  meaning.  Ma- 
sonic Eites,  their  origin,  growth,  and  dis- 
tribution of  membership  throughout  the 
world,  their  present  condition,  relationship, 
and  modes  of  government,  are  presented 
more  clearly,  perhaps,  than  ever  before. 

Scottish  Eite  Freemasonry,  the  discussion 
of  which  includes  a  list  of  the  names  and 
addresses  of  all  thirty-third  degree  Free- 
masons in  the  United  States,  is  dealt  with 
so  as  to  make  plain  much  that  is  misunder- 
stood. The  work  involved  in  preparing  this 
chapter  necessitated  retracing  the  steps  of 
many  who  had  gone  that  way  before.  Mas- 
ter Masons  will  find  the  story  a  brief  and 
clear  exposition  of  what  has  often  been 
befogged. 


Modern  Occult  Societies  are  nominally 
more  numerous  than  their  following  would 
seem  to  warrant,  Nearly  all  have  been 
based  upon  Masonic  degrees  or  legends. 
The  only  noteworthy  survivor  is  the  Theo- 
sophical  Society,  Mrs.  Annie  Besant,  suc- 
cessor to  Madame  Helen  P.  Blavatsky, 
writes  interestingly  regarding  this  Society 
for  the  Cyclopaedia  of  Fraternities, 
making  several  points  which  will  attract  the 
attention  of  Masonic  students. 

As  very  few  among  those  who  have  here- 
tofore treated  of  events  during  the  period 
1827  to  1845  have  appreciated  the  part  the 
anti-Masonic  agitation  pla3'-ed  in  peopling 
what  may  be  called  the  secret  society  world, 
this  interesting  topic  is  quite  fully  discussed 
under  the  heads,  "Anti-Masonry,"  "Col- 
lege Fraternities,"  "  Patriotic  Orders,"  and 
"Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows." 

The  extent  to  which  the  Eoman  Catholic 
Church  has  antagonized  secret  societies  in 
America  is  referred  to,  in  part,  under 
"Anti-Masonry;"  bnt  its  later  attitude, 
looking  without  disfavor  on  the  formation 
of  private  beneficiary  and  charitable  organ- 
izations, does  not  appear  to  have  received 
treatment  elsewhere.  The  movement  is  sig- 
nificant in  that  it  constitutes  the  revival  of 
"a  little  Freemasonry"  wholly  within  the 
Church. 

Among  the  original  charts,  maps,  family 
trees,  and  other  diagrams,  prepared  for 
the  Cyclopaedia  of  Fraternities  are  the 
following : 

1,  Secret  Society  Membership  Map  of  the 

United  States; 

2,  Masonic  Map  of  the  World; 

3,  Spread  of  Freemasonry  from  England 

throughout  the  World ; 

4,  Number     of    Freemasons    in    Various 

Countries; 

5,  Number  of  Master  Masons  in  each  of 

the  Leading  Masonic  Eites; 

6,  Eelationship  of  the  English,  American, 

and  Scottish  Eites  of  Freemasonry; 

7,  Legitimate    and    Illegitimate    Scottish 

Eite  Masonic  Bodies; 


GENEALOGICAL    OR    FAMILY    TREE    OP    SECRET    SOCIETIES. 


FREEMASONRY. 


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PREFACE 


8.  Odd     Fellowship,    its     Branches     and 

Schisms; 

9.  Orders  of  White  and  of  Negro  Odd  Fel- 

lows and  their  Branches; 

10.  Origin  and   Relationship   of  Orders  of 

Foresters ; 

11.  Patriotic  and  Political  Societies,   1TG5 

(Sons  of  Liberty)  to  date  (American 
Protective  Association); 

12.  American  College  Fraternities  and  their 

Extension; 

13.  Relationship  of  Temperance  Secret  So- 

cieties; 

14.  Hebrew    Secret,    Charitable    Organiza- 

tions; 

15.  Railroad  Employes'  Brotherhoods,  and 

16.  Labor  Organizations. 

Stndents  of  the  curious  will  be  interested 
in  the  discussions  of  anti-Roman  Catholic 
secret  societies,  societies  which  favor  a 
silver  monetary  standard,  mystical  organi- 
zations to  teach  economics,  for  the  encour- 
agement of  recreation,  enforcing  law  and 
order,  for  carrying  out  revolutionary  de- 
signs, for  indulging  in  eccentricity,  and  for 
subverting  law  and  order.  The  list  is  not 
a  long  one,  but  is  interesting  as  a  sociologi- 
cal record. 

The  labor  entailed  in  compiling  the 
Cyclopaedia  of  Fkaternities  has  been 
lightened  by  the  cooperation  of  members  of 
the  societies  named ;  and  for  much  that  is 
meritorious  herein,  particular  credit  is  in 
part  due  to  those  whose  names  are  appended, 
to  whom  the  warmest  acknowledgments  are 
extended : 
Adelubehagen,    Paul,    A.    F.    and   A.   M., 

Hamburg,  Netherlands. 
Allan,  F.  W.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Glasgow, 

Scotland. 
Arthur,  P.  M.,  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive 

Engineers,  Cleveland,  0. 
Backus,  Rev.   J.  E.,  Independent  Order  of 

Good  Templars,  Rome,  N.  Y. 
Bangs,  Algernon  S.,  United  Order  of  the 

Golden  Cross,  Augusta,  Me. 
Baskett,  S.  R.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Evershot, 

Dorchester,  England. 


Bates,  John  L.,  United  Order  of  Pilgrim 
Fathers,  Boston,  Mass. 

Bayley,  J.,  Independent  Order  of  Foresters, 
Toronto,  Ont. 

Beck,   Charles  F.,    A.   F.  and  A.  M.,  De- 
troit, Mich. 

Bellamy,  Marsdeu,  Knights  of  Honor,  Wil- 
mington, N.  C. 

Bernstein,  Paul,  American  Star  Order,  New 
York. 

Besant,  Mrs.  Annie,  Theosophical  Society, 
London,  England. 

Bien,  Julius,  B'nai  B'rith,  New  York. 

Bierce,   C.   A.,   Order  of  the  Golden  Rod, 
Detroit,  Mich. 

Bigelow,  Joseph  Hill,  College  Fraternities, 
College  City  New  York. 

Biggs,  D.  S.,  American  Legion  of  Honor, 
Boston,  Mass. 

Bloss,  J.  M.,  Equitable  Aid  LTnion,  Titus- 
ville.  Pa. 

Bolton,    DeWitt   C,   Knights   of   Pythias, 
Paterson,  N.  J. 

Boughton,  J.  S.,  Order  of  Select  Friends, 
Lawrence,  Kan. 

Bowles,  G.  F.,  The  Universal  Brotherhood, 
Natchez,  Miss. 

Boyd,  W.  T.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Cleveland,  0. 

Brown,  F.  L.,  Improved  Order  of  Hepta- 
sophs.  Scran  ton,  Pa. 

Buchanan,  James  Isaac,  A.  F.  and  A.  M., 
Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Bundy,    William    E.,    Sons    of    Veterans, 
U.  S.  A.,  Cincinnati,  0. 

Burmester,  Charles  E.,    Adjutant-General, 
G.  A.  R.,  Omaha,  Neb. 

Burnett,  D.  Z.,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

Burton,   Alonzo  J.,   Order  of  the  Eastern 
Star,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Burton,  John  R.,  Modern  Order  of  Crafts- 
men, Detroit,  Mich. 

Campfield,  George  A.,  Independent  Order 
of  Foresters,  Detroit,  Mich. 

Carlos,  James  J.,  St.  Patrick's  Alliance  of 
America,  Newark,  N.  J. 

Carnahan,  Major-General  James  R.,  Knights 
of  Pythias,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 


PREFACE 


IX 


Carson,  E.  T,,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Cincin- 
nati, 0. 

Carter,  John  M.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Balti- 
more, Md. 

Chase,  Ira  J.,  Tribe  of  Ben  Ilur,  Crawfords- 
ville,  Ind. 

Churchill,  C.  Kobert,  College  Fraternities, 
New  Orleans,  La. 

Clancy,  J.  J.,  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians, 
Trenton,  N.  J. 

Clare,  Ealph  B.,  Knights  of  the  Mystic 
Chain,  Philadel^ihia,  Pa. 

Clark,  E.  E.,  Order  of  Kailway  Conductors, 
Cedar  Rapids,  la. 

Clark,  Miss  F.  M.,  New  England  Order  of 
Protection,  Boston,  Mass. 

Clarkson,  Thaddeus  S.,  G.  A.  R.,  Omaha, 
Neb. 

Clendenen,  G.  W.,  Mystic  Order  of  the 
World,  Fulton,  111. 

Clift,  J.  Augustus,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  .St. 
Johns,  N.  F. 

Coffin,  Selden  J.,  College  Fraternities,  La- 
fayette College,  Easton,  Pa. 

Colby,  Arthur  W.,  College  Fraternities, 
Cleveland,  0. 

Congdon,  Joseph  W.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M., 
Paterson,  N.  J. 

Cotter,  Frank  G.,  Actors'  Order  of  Friend- 
ship, New  York. 

Cowen,  Thomas  B.,  College  Fraternities, 
Williamstown,  Mass. 

Cruett,  John  AV.,  Improved  Order  of  Hep- 
tasophs,  Baltimore,  ^Id. 

Culbertson,  William,  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Eagle,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Cummings,  Thomas  H.,  Catholic  Knights 
of  Columbus,  Boston,  Mass. 

Daniels,  William  P.,  Order  of  Railway  Con- 
ductors, Cedar  Rapids,  la. 

Dase,  William  H.,  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross, 
Springfield,  0. 

Day,  Fessenden  I.,  United  Order  of  the 
Golden  Cross.  Lewiston,  Me. 

De  Leon,  Daniel D.,  Knights  of  Labor,  New 
York. 

Devo,  John  H.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  (negro), 
"  Albany,  N.  Y. 


Donnelly,  T.  M.,  Woodchoppers'  Associa- 
tion, Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

Dore,  John  P.,  Massachusetts  Catholic  Or- 
der of  Foresters,  Boston,  Mass. 

Dorf,  Samuel,  B'rith  Abraham,  New  York. 

Doris,  T.  C,  Ancient  Order  of  the  Sanhe- 
drim, Richmond,  Va. 

Dorwell,  R.  R.,  Good  Samaritans  and 
Daughters  of  Samaria,  Stamford,  Conn. 

Douglicrty,  John,  Switchmen's  Union,  N. 
A.,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Eavenson,  Marvin  M.,  Sons  of  Temperance, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Edelstein,  John,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Jersey 
City,  N.  J. 

Edmunds,  G.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Carthage, 
111. 

Eidson,  W.  R.,  American  Benevolent  As- 
sociation, St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Ellinger,  M.,  B'nai  B'rith,  New  York. 

Engelhardt,  August,  Benevolent  Order  of 
Buffaloes,  New  York. 

Everett,  D.,  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive 
Engineers,  Cleveland,  0. 

Failey,  James  F.,  Order  of  Iron  Hall,  In- 
dianapolis, Ind. 

Farrell,  J.  H.,  Royal  Arcanum,  Paterson, 
N.  J. 

Fields,  M.  F.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  (negro), 
St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Fowler,  George  W.,  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  Detroit,  Mich. 

Frantzen,  C.  J.,  Royal  Benefit  Society,  New 
York. 

Frost,  D.  M.,  Knights  of  Reciprocity,  Gar- 
den City,  Kan. 

Galami,  M.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Athens, 
Greece. 

Gans,  William  A.,  B'nai  B'rith,  New  York, 
N.  Y. 

Garwood,  S.  S.,  Order  of  Home  Builders, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gaston,  Frederick,  The  Grand  Fraternity, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gerard,  D.  W.,  Tribe  of  Ben  Hur,  Craw- 
fordsville,  Ind. 

Gildersleevc,  Charles  E.,  Order  of  United 
Americans,  New  York. 


PREFACE 


Glenn,  G.  W.,  Independent  Order  of  Reclia- 
bites,  Sykes,  Va. 

Goodule,  H.  G.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Jamaica, 
Queens  Co.,  N.  Y. 

Gorman,  Artliur  P.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Bal- 
timore, Md. 

Graham,  Rev.  George  S.,  Order  of  Iron 
Hall,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gretzinger,  William  C,  College  Fraternities, 
Lowisburg,  Pa. 

Griest,  W.  C,  The  United  States  Benefit 
Fraternity,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Griffin,  Martin  I.  J.,  Irish  Catholic  Benev- 
olent Union,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Gross,  F.  W.,  United  Brothers  in  Friend- 
ship, Victoria,  Tex. 

Gwinnell,  John  M.,  American  Legion  of 
Honor,  Newark,  N.  J. 

Hahne,  Irvin  A.,  Independent  Order  of 
Mechanics,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hamilton,  W.  R.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Car- 
thage, 111. 

Hammer,  H.  H.,  Adjutant  General,  Sons 
of  Veterans,  U.  S.  A.,  Reading,  Pa. 

Harburger,  Julius,  Independent  Order, 
Free  Sons  of  Israel,  New  York. 

Harper,  G.  S.,  Order  of  the  World,  Wheel- 
ing, W.  Va. 

Harrison,  H.  Leslie,  Knights  of  St.  John 
and  Malta,  New  York. 

Harte,  H.  M.,  Knights  of  Honor,  New  York. 

Hassewell,  J.  N.,  Patriotic  Order,  Sons  of 
America,  Scranton,  Pa. 

Hayes,  John  W.,  Knights  of  Labor,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

Heller,  S.  M.,  Home  Palladium,  Kansas 
City,  Mo. 

Hennessy,  J.  C,  National  Reserve  Associa- 
tion, Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Henry,  William,  Order  of  Amaranth,  De- 
troit, Mich. 

Herman,  L.,  Ahavas  Israel,  New  York. 

Herriford,  Joseph  E.,  International  Order 
of  Twelve,  Chillicothe,  Mo. 

Hibben,  E.  H.,  Northern  Fraternal  Insur- 
ance Association,  Marshalltown,  la. 

Hinckley,  George  C,  College  Fraternities, 
Providence,  R.  I. 


Hitt,  George  C,  Order  of  Iron  Hall,  In- 
dianapolis, Ind. 

Holden,  S.  F.,  Knights  and  Ladies  of 
America,  New  York. 

Holman,  Oliver  D.,  Order  of  United 
Friends,  New  York. 

Holmes,  M.  B.,  Ancient  Order  of  Hiber- 
nians, New  York. 

Hopkins,  A.  W.,  International  Order  of 
Twelve,  Leavenworth,  Kan. 

Hucless,  Robert,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  (negro), 
New  York, 

Hughes,  James  L.,  The  Loyal  Orange  As- 
sociation, Toronto,  Ont. 

Irving,  E.  B.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  (negro), 
Albany,  N.  Y. 

Jackson,  Thornton  A.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
(negro),  Washington,  D.  C. 

Jones,  C.  C,  Adjutant-General,  G.  A.  R., 
Rockford,  111. 

Jones,  Charles  R.,  Order  of  Equity,  In- 
dianapolis, Ind. 

Johnston,  John  G.,  Order  of  Rente,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

Johnston,  Thomas  E.,  Order  of  Knights  of 
Friendship,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Keliher,  Sylvester,  American  Railway 
Union,  Chicago,  111. 

Kimptou,  Carl  W.,  Order  of  Unity,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

King,  Charles  M.,  Benevolent  and  Protec- 
tive Oi'der  of  Elks,  Paterson,  N.  J. 

Kittrell,  L.  A.,  Knights  of  Pythias  (ne- 
gro), Macon,  Ga. 

Krape,  William  W.,  Knights  of  the  Globe, 
Freeport,  111. 

Kuhn,  John  R.,  Catholic  Benevolent  Le- 
gion, Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Lamb,  E.  F.,  Order  of  United  Friends  of 
Michigan,  Flint,  Mich. 

Lander,  W.  F.,  Knights  and  Ladies  of 
Azar,  Chicago,  111. 

Laurence,  R.  D.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Spring- 
field, 111. 

Lawler,  Thomas  G.,  G.  A.  R.,  Rockford, 
111. 

Lawrence,  G.  ^.,  National  Farmers'  Al- 
liance, Marion,  0. 


PREFACE 


XI 


Leahy,  John  P.,  Union  Fraternal  Alliance,  Mann,  Dr.  D.  IL,  Independent  Order  Good 

Boston,  Mass.  Tcnii)lars,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Leahy,  Thomas,  A.  F.   and  A.  M.,  Roch-  Markey,  D.  P.,  Knights  of  the  Maccabees, 

ester,  N.  Y.  Port  Huron,  Mich. 

Lee,  J.  P.,  St.  Patrick's  Alliance  of  Anier-  Mason,  E.  C,  Royal  Tribe  of  Joseph,  8e- 

ica.  Orange,  N.  J.  dalia,  Mo. 
Leisersohn,  Leonard,  B'rith  Abraham,  New  Mason,  Joseph,  Foresters  of  America,  Pat- 
York,  erson,  N.  J. 
Lenbert,    J.  G.,    Grand  United   Order  of  Mason,  J,  J.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Hamilton, 

Odd  Fellows  (negro),  New  York.  Ont. 

Lerch,    George    L.,    College    Fraternities,  Mason,    J.    W.,    Protected    Home    Circle, 

Clinton,  N.  Y.  Sharon,  Pa. 

Levy,  Ferdinand,  Sons  of  Benjamin,  New  Maulsby,  D.  L.,  College  Fraternities,  Tufts 

York.  College,  Massachusetts. 

Levy,  Magnus,  Independent  Order  of  Amer-  May,  William  H.,  Jr.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M., 

ican  Israelites,  New  York.  Washington,  D.  C. 

Lockard,  L.   B.,    Knights   and    Ladies  of  Mendenhall,  B.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Dallas 

Honor,  Bradford,  Pa.  City,  111. 

Loewenstein,  E.,   A.  F.  and  A.  M.,   New  Mills,  A.  G.,  Military  Order  of  Loyal  Lc- 

York.  gion,  New  York. 

Lunstedt,  Henry,  Native  Sons  of  the  Gold-  Miner,   S.  L.,  National  Fraternal  Union, 

en  West,  San  Francisco,  Cal.  Cincinnati,  0. 

Lnthin,  Otto  L.  F.,  Royal  Society  of  Good  Mitchell,   C.   W.,   Knights  of  the  Golden 

Fellows,  Boston,  Mass.  Eagle,  Mansfield,  0. 

Lyon,  D.  Murray,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Edin-  Monahan,  James,  Irish  National  Order  of 

burgh,  Scotland.  Foresters,  New  York. 

McCarroll,  F.  Liberty,  Shepherds  of  Beth-  Moore,  E.  T.,  College  Fraternities,  Swath- 

lehem,  Newark,  N.  J.  more  College,  Swathmore,  Pa. 

McClenachan,  Charles  T.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Moore,  R.  B.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Elizabeth, 

New  York.  N.  J. 

McClintock,  E.    S.,  Ancient  Order  of  the  Moorman,    Gen.    George,    United   Confed- 

Pyramids,  Topeka,  Kan.  erate  Veterans,  New  Orleans,  La. 

McClurg,   John,  Jr.,  Templars  of  Liberty  Morse,    H.  H.,   Order  of  Chosen  Friends, 

of  America,  New  York.  New  York. 

McLaughlin,     James    J.,      Massachusetts  Mott,  J.  Lawrence,  Workmen's  Benefit  So- 

Catliolic  Order  of  Foresters,  Boston.  ciety,  Boston,  Mass. 

McLean,  Alexander,  Illinois  Order  of  Mu-  Mott,  Dr.  Valentine,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  New 

tual  Aid,  Macomb,  111.  York. 

Mackery,  L.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Edinburgh,  Mulford,    John    M.,   American    Insurance 

Scotland.  L'nion,  Columbus,  0. 

Magill,  Joseph  R.,  Grand  United  Order  of  Mull,    George    F.,    College     Fraternities, 

Odd  Fellows  (negro),  New  York.  Franklin  and  Marshall,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

Mahoney,  John  R.,  Independent  Order  of  Mulligan,  John,  Knights  of  Honor,  Yon- 

Rechabites,  Washington,  D.  C.  kers,  N.  Y. 

Malcolm,    Samuel    L.,    Order    of    United  Mulligan,    Ralph    R.,   Knights  of   Honor, 

Friends,  New  York.  Yonkers,  N.  Y. 

Mallard,  Rev.  Robert  Q.,  College  Fraterni-  Mundie,  P.  J.,  National  Union  of  Iron  and 

ties,  New  Orleans,  La.  Steel  Workers,  Youngstown,  0. 


PREFACE 


Muiiger,  Frank  E.,  Empire  Knights  of  Ee- 
lief,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Myers,  Allen  0.,  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  Cincinnati,  0. 

Myrick,  Herbert,  Patrons  of  Industry, 
Springfield,  Mass. 

Nason,  Edwin  H.,  Shield  of  Honor,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

Keedham.  James  F.,  Grand  United  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  (negro),  Philadelphia. 

Nichols,  John,  Templars  of  Liberty,  New 
York. 

Nicholson,  General  John  P.,  Military  Or- 
der of  Loyal  Legion,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Nicholson,  James  B.,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Nielsen,  Eennus,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Copen- 
hagen, Denmark. 

Nisbet,  Michael,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

Noeckel,  A.  G.,  The  Columbus  Mutual 
Benefit  Association,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Northcott,  William  A.,  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America,  Greenville,  111. 

Oakes,  Henry  W.,  New  England  Order  of 
Protection,  Auburn,  Me. 

O'Connell,  James,  International  Associa- 
tion of  Machinists,  Richmond,  Va. 

O'Connor,  P.  J.,  Ancient  Order  of  Hiber- 
nians, Savannah,  Ga. 

Oddi,  J.  S.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Alexandria, 
Egypt. 

Oliver,  Edward,  Order  of  Sons  of  St.  George, 
San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Oronhyatekha,  Dr.,  Independent  Order  of 
Foresters,  Toronto,  Ont. 

O'Rourke,  William,  Catholic  Knights  of 
America,  Fort  Wayne,  Ind. 

Palmer,  Alanson,  Eclectic  Assembly,  Brad- 
ford, Pa. 

Palmer,  George  W.,  Templars  of  Liberty, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Pancoast,  E.  H.,  Shield  of  Honor,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

Parker,  B.  F.,  Independent  Order  of  Good 
Templars,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Paton,  Andrew  H.,  Improved  Order  of  Red 
Men,  Dan  vers,  Mass. 


Pearson,  A.  L.,  Union  Veterans'  Legion, 
Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Peckinpaugh,  Thomas  E.,  Improved  Order 
of  Red  Men,  Cleveland,  0. 

Pellin,  J.  F.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Havana, 
Cuba. 

Perkins,  E.  C,  Iron  Hall,  Baltimore, 
Md. 

Perry,  John  A.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

Peters,  A.  C,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  (negro), 
Newark,  N.  J. 

Petter,  Frank  S.,  Loyal  Additional  Benefit 
Association,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

Phillips,  Rev.  E.  S.,  Ancient  Order  of  Hi- 
bernians, Plains,  Pa. 

Popper,  H.,  Independent  Order  Free  Sons 
of  Judah,  New  York. 

Porter,  E.  H.,  College  Fraternities,  Beloit, 
Wis. 

Post,  August,  National  Farmers'  Alliance, 
Moulton,  la. 

Powell,  J.  B.  R.,  Modern  Knights  Fidelity 
League,  Kansas  City,  Kan. 

Powell,  M.  v..  Order  of  Railway  Teleg- 
raphers, Vinton,  la. 

Presson,  G.  S.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Berne, 
Switzerland. 

Ramsey,  Walter  M.,  College  Fraternities, 
Lafayette,  Ind. 

Ray,  Peter  S.,  M.D.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
(negro),  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Reeve,  S.  Lansing,  D.D.,  American  Patriotic 
League,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Reynolds,  Walter  D.,  Sexennial  League, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Ridings,  C.  C,  Patriarchal  Circle  of  Amer- 
ica, Morris,  111. 

Riesenberger,  A.,  College  Fraternities,  Ste- 
vens Institute,  Hoboken,  N.  J. 

Robinson,  Charles  H.,  Order  of  ^gis,  Bal- 
timore, Md. 

Robinson,  W.  A.,  College  Fraternities, 
Bethlehem,  Pa. 

Rodrigues,  Francesco  de  P.,  A.  F.  and 
A.  M.,  Havana,  Colon. 

Ronemus,  Frank  L.,  Brotherhood  of  Rail- 
way Carmen,  Cedar  Rapids,  la. 


PREFACE  Xiii 

Roose,  F.  F.,  Fraternal  Union  of  America,  Simons,  W.  N.,  Order  of  United  American 
Denver,  Colo.  Mechanics,  Xorwalk,  Conn. 

Root,  C.  J.,  Woodmen  of  the  World.  Slattery,  M.  J.,  Ancient  Order  of  Iliber- 
Oniaha,  Neb.  nians,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

Rosenthal,  B.,  Independent  Order  Free  Smalley,  Frank,  College  Fraternities,  Syra- 
'    Sons  of  Judah,  New  York.  cuse  University,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Rosenthal,  Henry,  Improved  Order,  Smith,  Adon,  Veiled  Prophets  of  the  En- 
Knights  of  Pythias.  Evansville,  Ind.  chanted  Realm,  New  York. 

Rosenthal,  Morris,  Kesiier  Shel  Barzel,  Smith,  D.  P.,  Order  of  United  Friends  of 
New  York.  Michigan,  Detroit,  Mich. 

Ross,  James  C,  Knights  of  Pythias  (negro).  Smith,  George  K.,  Concatenated  Order  of 
Savannah,  Ga.  Hoo-lloo,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Ross,  Theodore  A.,  Independent  Order  of  Smith,  General  John  C,  A.  F.  and  A.  }>[., 
Odd  Fellows,  Baltimore,  Md.  Chicago,  111. 

Rousell,  Edward,  Fraternal  Aid  Associa-  Smith,  T.  J.,  Knights  of  the  Golden  Rule, 
tion,  Lawrence,  Kan.  Cincinnati,  0. 

Rugh,  W.  J.,  Ancient  and  Illustrious  Order  Smitli,  AV.  J.,  American  Glass  Makers' 
Knights  of  Malta,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Union,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Russell.  William  T.,A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Bal-  Speelman,  H.  V.,  Adjutant-General,  Sons 
timore,  Md.  of  A'eterans,  L^.  S.  A.,  Cincinnati,  0. 

Sanders,  James  P.,  Independent  Order  of  Speth,  G.  W.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Bromley, 
Odd  Fellows,  Yonkers,  N.  Y.  Kent,  England. 

Sanderson,  Percy,  Order  of  Sons  of  St.  Spooner,  W.  R.,  Royal  Society  of  Good  Fel- 
George,  New  York.  lows.  New  York. 

Sargent,  F.  P.,  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Stead,  T.  Ballan,  Ancient  Order  of  Fores- 
Firemen,  Peoria,  111.  ters,  England. 

Saunders,  T.  W.,  Independent  Order  of  Stearns,  John  B.,  College  Fraternities,  Bur- 
Foresters  of  Illinois,  Chicago,  111.  lington,  Vt. 

Schaale,  Charles  F.,  Patriotic  Order  of  Stebbins,  John  W.,  Independent  Order  of 
America,  St.  Louis,  Mo.  Odd  Fellows,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Schord,  Louis  G.,  United  Ancient  Order  of  Stees,  F.  E.,  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  Amer- 
Druids,  San  Francisco,  Cal.  ica,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Scott,  George,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  New  Stephenson,  Mary  H.,  G.  A.  R.,  Peters- 
York,  burg.  111. 

Scott,  George  A.,  National  Protective  Le-  Stevens,  D.  E.,  Order  of  the  Fraternal  Mys- 
gion,  Waverly,  N.  Y.  tic  Circle,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Scottron,  S.  R.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  (negro),  Stevenson,  A.  E.,  Independent  Order  of 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Foresters,  Chicago,  111. 

Sears,  John  M.,  Independent  and  Interna-  Steward,  C.  C,  Grand  United  Order  of 
tional  Order  of  Owls,  Nashville,  Tenn.  Galilean  Fishermen,  Bristol,  Tenn. 

Sendersen,  W.  C.  College  Fraternities,  Stewart,  James  F.,  Indian  Republican 
Gambier,  0.  League,  Paterson,  N.  J. 

Server,  John,  Order  of  United  American  St.  George,  Archibald.  A.  F.  and  A.  ^L, 
Mechanics,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Dublin,  Ireland. 

Shipp,  J.  F.,  United  Confederate  Veterans,  Stolts,  William  A.,  L^nited  Order  of  For- 
Chattanooga,  Tenn.  esters,  Chicago.  111. 

Shirrefs,  R.  A.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Eliza-  Stowell,  C.  L.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Rochester, 
beth,  N.  J.  N.  Y. 


PREFACE 


Stringhain,  LeRoy  M.,  Templars  of  Honor 
and  Temperance,  Ripley,  N.  Y. 

Stubbs,  T.  J.,  College  Fraternities,  Wil- 
liamsburg, Va. 

Suleb,  M.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Cairo,  Egypt. 

Sullavon,  Emanuel,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  (ne- 
gro), New  Bedford,  Mass. 

Sullivan,  B.  Frank,  Order  of  Heptasoplis, 
or  S.  W.  M.,  Wilmington,  Del. 

Sullivan,  Timothy  F.,  Catholic  Knights  of 
Columbus,  Boston,  Mass. 

Taylor,  Harold,  Order  of  Iron  Hall,  Indian- 
apolis, Ind. 

Taylor,W.  E.,  Molly  Maguires, Pittsburg, Pa. 

Terrell,  George,  College  Fraternities,  Mid- 
dletown,  Conn. 

Thiele,  Theodore  B.,  Catholic  Order  of  For- 
esters, Chicago,  111. 

Thompson,  J.  W.,  Knights  of  Pythias, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Tipper,  F.  S.,  Jr.,  Order  of  United  Ameri- 
can Mechanics,  Stamford,  Conn. 

Titcomb,  Virginia  C,  Patriotic  League  of 
the  Revolution,  Brooklyn. 

Todd,  Quinton,  Knights  of  Birmingham, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Tompkins,  Uriah  W.,  Home  Circle,  New 
York. 

Toomey,  D.  P.,  Catholic  Knights  of  Colum- 
bus, Boston,  Mass. 

Trimble,  John,  Patrons  of  Husbandry, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Troutman,  Charles  E.,  Union  Veterans' 
Legion,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Tyler,  C.  W.,  Jr.,  Order  United  American 
Mechanics,  Richmond,  Va. 

Underbill,  C.  F.,  Royal  Fraternity,  Minne- 
apolis, Minn. 

Unverzagt,  C.  H.,  National  Fraternal  Alli- 
ance, Baltimore,  Md. 

Upson,  Irving  S.,  College  Fraternities, 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 

Verticau,  F.  W.,  Patrons  of  Industry,  Port 
Huron,  Mich. 

Waite,  G.  Harry,  Knights  of  the  Mystic 
Chain,  Port  Dickinson,  N.  Y. 

Walkinshaw,  L.  C,  College  Fraternities, 
Lewisburg,  Pa. 


Wallace,  Colonel  E.  Bruce,  Union  Veterans* 
Legion,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Watkins,  James  S.,  Improved  Order  of 
Ileptasophs,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Weatherbee,  J.,  Order  of  Railway  Teleg- 
raphers, Vinton,  la. 

Weeks,  Joseph  D.,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Pitts- 
burg, Pa. 

Weihe,  William,  Amalgamated  Association, 
Iron  and  Steel  Workers,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Wende,  Ernest,  M.D.,  Order  of  the  Iro- 
quois, Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

White,  R.  L.  C,  Kniglits  of  Pythias,  Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

W^ilson,  J.  W^.,  National  Farmers'  Alliance, 
Chicago,  111. 

Wilson,  W.  IL,  Knights  of  Birmingham, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wilson,  W.  Warne,  Columbian  League,  De- 
troit, Mich. 

Wood,  C.  B.,  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Wood,  E.  0.,  Knights  of  the  Loyal  Guard, 
Flint,  Mich. 

Woodruff,  C.  S.,  Templars  of  Honor  and 
Temperance,  Newark,  N.  J. 

Woodward,  Rev.  C.  S.,  Temple  of  Honor, 
Newark,  N.  J. 

Woolsey,  George  F.,  L^nited  Order  of  For- 
esters, St.  Paul,  Minn. 

Wright,  George  W.,  Order  of  Heptasophs, 
or  S.  W.  M.,  Norfolk,  Va. 

Wright,  William  B.,  Modern  American 
Fraternal  Order,  Effingham,  111. 

Young,  James,  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Eagle,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Where  the  origin  of  so  many  fraternities 
has  been  largely  or  in  part  obscured  through 
the  want  of  voluntary  chroniclers,  and  some- 
times by  reason  of  the  emphasis  placed  on 
the  legendary  accounts  of  their  beginnings, 
it  has  often  been  difficult  to  arrive  at  all  the 
facts.  The  search  for  truth,  however,  has 
been  conducted  without  bias,  in  an  honest 
endeavor  to  collate  as  much  as  possible  of 
that  which  may  be  known  concerning  this 
interesting  phase  of  social  life. 


IlSTTRODUCTIOlSr 


Very  few  among  the  six  million  members 
of  nearly  three  hundred  secret  societies, 
fraternities,  and  sisterhoods  in  the  United 
States  are  familiar  with  the  origin,  history, 
or  function  of  these  organizations.  This 
has  been  noted  by  the  eminent  English  ]Ma- 
sonic  historian,  Eobert  F.  Gould^  who,  on 
page  157,  vol.  ii.,  of  his  "History  of  Free- 
masonry," says:  "The  members  of  a  secret 
society  are  rarely  conversant  with  its  origin 
and  history."  Many  have  a  fair  knowledge 
of  the  extent,  membership,  and  the  more 
immediate  objects  of  the  societies  to  which 
they  belong;  but  the  real  histories  of  the 
origin  and  development  of  many  of  the  older 
organizations  have  so  often  been  enveloped 
in  myster}^  or  founded  on  mythical  inci- 
dents, or  traditions,  that  the  average  mem- 
ber, unless  i)articularly  interested  and  will- 
ing to  devote  time  and  study  to  the  task, 
seldom  becomes  a  trustworthy  source  of  in- 
formation as  to  the  fraternity  of  Avhich  he 
may  be  a  conspicuous  and  honored  repre- 
sentative. 

Lengthy  and  exhaustive  histories  of  some 
of  the  older  and  larger  secret  societies  in 
the  United  States  have  been  published,  but 
most  of  them  are  expensive  and  require 
time  and  study  to  enable  the  reader  to  be- 
come familiar  with  the  details  of  their  con- 
tents. In  the  rush  of  our  latter-day  civili- 
zation, the  busy  citizen  finds  little  time  to 
pore  over  the  wealth  of  incident  with  which 
such  works  properly  abound.  It  has,  there- 
fore, remained  for  the  few  to  know  of  that 
which  the  many  have  been  struggling  to 
accomplish,  to  learn  whence  they  came  and 
whither  travelling. 

Few  who  are  well  informed  on  the  subject 
will  deny  that  the  Masonic  Fraternity  is 
directly  or  indirectly  the  parent  organiza- 
tion of  all  modern  secret  societies,  good, 
bad,  and  indifferent;  but  fewer  still  are  able 
to  explain  why  or  how.     Those  who  have  an 


intelligent  idea  of  the  relationship  of  the 
hundreds  of  secret  societies  which  have  left 
an  impress  upon  American  sociological  de- 
velopment in  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth 
centuries,  may  be  numbered  on  the  lingers 
of  one  hand,  if  indeed  there  are  as  many  as 
that;  and  it  is  in  order  to  remedy  this,  to 
place  it  within  the  reach  of  practically  every 
member  of  every  secret  society  to  familiar- 
ize himself  with  these  important  particulars, 
that  the  task  of  compiling  the  Cyclopaedia 
OF  Fraternities  was  begun.  The  im))or- 
tance  of  such  a  work  may  hardly  be  over- 
estimated, including,  as  it  does,  prolonged 
original  investigation  of  hundreds  of  tradi- 
tions and  chronicles  of  many  organizations; 
the  examination  of  all  of  the  best  and  many 
other  official  or  authoritative  historical  and 
other  publications;  and  last,  but  not  least, 
the  enlistment  of  the  cooperation  of  hun- 
dreds of  the  best-informed  members  of 
nearly  all  existing  and  some  extinct  secret 
societies,  to  the  end  that  little  if  anything 
may.  remain  undone  to  present,  in  projier 
perspective,  a  panoramic  view  of  the  secret 
society  world  in  America,  which  will  pre- 
serve the  sequence  and  relationship  of  such 
organizations. 

"When  it  is  known  that  more  than  200,000 
candidates  for  membership  are  initiated 
every  year  into  American  secret  fraterni- 
ties and  sisterhoods,  30,000  alone  into  the 
Masonic  Fraternity,  and  as  many  more  into 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of 
whom,  as  a  rule,  60  per  cent,  become  more 
or  less  active  members,  the  need  for  a  com- 
prehensive work  Avhich  Avill  present  the  im- 
portant facts  concerning  all  secret  societies 
from  a  universal  point  of  view  becomes 
apparent. 

Notwithstanding  the  century's  extraordi- 
nary development  in  agriculture,  commerce, 
manufactures,  in  tlie  arts,  in  the  dissemi- 
nation of  intelligence,  in  the  machinery  of 


INTRODUCTION 


finance,  and  in  good  government,  interest 
in  the  older  and  better  types  of  secret  soci- 
eties has  grown  with  even  greater  rapidity, 
if  one  may  judge  from  the  increase  in  mem- 
be  rsliii)  and  prosperity.  This  may  come  in 
tlie  nature  of  a  surprise  to  many  who  know 
little  of  the  extent  or  importance  of  the 
secret  society  world,  and  it  gathers  inter- 
est for  every  student  of  mankind  in  that  it 
suggests  an  inquiry  into  the  cause  of  this 
attraction,  and  raises  the  question  whether 
the  mystical  side  to  our  natures  has  not  ex- 
panded relatively  more  rapidly  than  that 
which  looks  mainly  to  material  comfort. 

Daring  the  seventeenth  century  the  specu- 
lative successors  to  the  ancient  English 
operative  Freemasons  added  to  their  symbol- 
ism, drawn  from  the  workingmen's  guilds 
of  the  middle  ages,  many  of  the  character- 
istics of  the  older  religious  and  mystical 
societies.  Thus,  there  may  be  found  in 
modern  Freemasonry  traces  of  the  Egyp- 
tian, Eleusinian,  Mithraic,  Adoniac,  Cabi- 
ric,  and  Druidic  Mysteries,  all  of  which, 
when  undefiled,  taught  jnirity,  immortality, 
and  the  existence  of  an  ever-living  and  true 
God.  Their  ceremonials  were  divided  into 
degrees  in  which  were  conferred  secret 
means  of  recognition,  and  each  had  a 
legend  which,  by  dramatic  representation, 
impressed  upon  the  novitiate  the  lesson  that 
the  Avay  to  life  is  by  death.  Masonic  sym- 
bolism and  ceremonials  show  also  the  influ- 
ence of  the  teachings  of  the  Gnostics,  the 
Kabbalists,  Pythagoreans,  Druses,  Mani- 
cheans,  and  the  earlier  Rosicrucians.  It 
was  between  1723  and  1740  that  the  parent 
modern  secret  society  spread  from  England 
throughout  Europe  and  into  the  British 
colonies.  After  the  American  AVar  of  the 
Revolution  it  became,  with  one  or  two 
political  secret  societies  founded  by  Free- 
masons, the  direct  or  indirect  source  of  all 
secret  societies  formed  in  America  since 
that  time.  With  a  few  excej^tions,  the  like 
is  true  concerning  secret  societies  in  Europe 
formed  since  1740. 

One  hundred  years  ago  there  were  about 


twenty-five  hundred  Freemasons  in  the 
United  States,  perhaps  five  liundred  mem- 
bers of  the  St.  Tammany  (patriotic)  secret 
societies,  and  the  few  scattered  members 
of  Phi  Beta  Kapjia  at  Yale,  Harvard,  and 
Dartmouth  Colleges.  The  Cyclop.-edia  of 
Fraternities  traces  more  than  six  hun- 
dred secret  societies  in  the  United  States 
since  1797,  of  which  more  than  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  survive,  with  a  membership 
amounting  to  40  per  cent,  of  the  present 
male  population  of  the  country  who  are 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  in  contrast  with 
less  than  one-quarter  of  1  per  cent,  of  the 
adult  male  2)opulation  who  were  members 
of  secret  fraternities  one  himdred  years  ago. 

MASONIC   BODIES. 

American  Rite:  Lodges,  ChaiJters,  Councils,  and 
Conimanderies. 

Scottish  Rite  :  Grand  Lodges  of  Perfection,  Coun- 
cils, Chapters,  Consistories,  and  Supreme  Coun- 
cils. 

Concordant  Orders :  Koyal  Order  of  Scotland ; 
Knights  of  the  Red  Cross  of  Constantine. 

Non-3Iasonic  Bodies  to  which  only  Freemasons  are 
Eligible  :  Modern  Society  of  Rosicrucians  ;  Sov- 
ereign College  of  Allied  Masonic  Degrees  ;  An- 
cient Arabic  Order  of  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Slirine  ;  Mystic  Order,  Veiled  Prophets  of  the 
Enchanted  Realm  ;  Independent,  International 
Order  of  Owls,  and  the  "side  degree,"'  Tall 
Cedars  of  Lebanon. 

Dead  or  Dormant :  Rite  of  Memphis  ;  Oriental  Rite 
of  Memphis  and  Misraim  ;  Rite  of  Swedenborg  ; 
Order  of  Martinists. 

Irregular  or  Spurious  Masonic  Bodies  :  1.  Amer- 
ican and  "Scottish  Rite"  bodies  among  ne- 
groes ;  2.  Cerneau  and  Seymour-Cerneau 
"  Scottish  Rite"  bodies. 

Also,  Clandestine  Masonic  Lodges  ;  Society  of  the 
Illuminati  and  the  Covenant  ;  Freemasonry 
among  the  Early  Mormons  ;  Chinese  Freema- 
sonry in  America  :  Freemasonry  among  Amer- 
ican Negroes  ;  Anti-Masonry  at  Home  and 
Abroad;  Statistics  of  Freemasonry,  and  a  list 
of  Distinguished  Americans  who  are  or  were 
Freemasons. 

Various  American  Military  Orders  and 
secret  societies,  followed  by  Colonial  and 
Ancestral  Orders,  take  their  inspiration 
from  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  founded 


FREEMASONS. 


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GRAND  UNITED  ORDER 


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CHART   SHOWING   RELATIVE  SIZE  OF  VARIOUS   INTERNATIONAL  SECRET   SOCIETIES. 


xvm 


INTRODUCTION 


in  1783  by  prominent  American  oflBcers  of 
the  War  of  the  Revolution,  nearly  if  not 
all  of  whom  were  Freemasons. 

MILITARY  ORDERS  AND  SOCIETIES. 

Society  of  the  Cincinnati  (War  of  Revolution). 

Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion. 

Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

Sons  of  Veterans. 

Union  Veteran  Legion. 

Women's  Relief  Corps. 

Ladies  of  tlie  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

Aid  Society  of  the  Sons  of  Veterans. 

Auxiliary  to  the  Union  Veteran  Legion. 

Loyal  Ladies'  League. 

Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  League. 

Advance  Guard   of  America,  or  Grand  Army  of 

Progress,  and 
United  Confederate  Veterans. 

The  Sons  of  Liberty,  composed  largely 
of  and  generally  officered  by  Freemasons, 
appeared  before  the  War  of  the  Revolution, 
and  was  succeeded  by  the  Sons  of  St. 
Tamina  and  St.  Tammany  Societies,  and 
the  latter  in  1813  by  the  Society  of  Red 
Men.  The  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men 
(1834)  was  a  further  outgrowth,  but  with 
charitable  and  benevolent  rather  than  po- 
litical features. 

PATRIOTIC  AND  POLITICAL  ORDERS. 

Sons  of  Liberty. 
Sons  of  St.  Tamina. 

*  Tammany  Society,  or  Columbian  Order. 
Society  of  Red  Men. 

*  Order  United  American  Mechanics. 

*  Junior  Order  United  American  Mechanics. 
Sons  of  '76  ;  Order  Star  Spangled  Banner  (Know- 

Nothing  Party). 

*  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America. 

*  Patriotic  Daughters  of  America. 
Order  of  True  Americans. 

*  Daughters  of  Liberty. 

*  Daughters  of  America. 
United  Sons  of  America. 

*  Junior  Sons  of  America. 

*  Brotherhood  of  the  Union. 
Patriotic  Order  of  True  Americans. 
American  Knights. 
Order  United  Americans. 
Templars. 

Order  of  American  Star. 
Free  and  Accepted  Americans. 
Order  Native  Americans. 


The  Crescent. 

National  Order  of  Videttes. 
Order  of  Red,  White,  and  Blue. 
Loyal  Men  of  American  Liberty. 
Sons  of  the  Soil. 

*  American  Protestant  Association. 

*  Junior  American  Protestant  Association. 
Loyal  Knights  of  America. 

Order  of  American  Freemen. 
Benevolent  Order  of  Bereans. 
Guards  of  Liberty. 

*  American  Protective  Association  (A.  P.  A.). 

*  Women's  Historical  Society. 

*  Junior  American  Protective  Association. 

*  Constitutional  Reform  Club. 

*  National  Assembly,  Patriotic  League. 

*  Order  Little  Red  School  House. 

*  American  Patriotic  League. 

*  Daughters  of  Columbia. 

*  Order  of  American  Union. 
Order  of  American  Shield. 

*  United  Order  of  Deputies. 
Minute  Men  of  1890. 

*  Knights  of  Reciprocity. 

*  American  Knights  of  Protection. 

*  Templars  of  Liberty. 

*  Patriots  of  America. 

*  Daughters  of  the  Republic. 

*  Silver  Knights  of  America,  and 

*  Silver  Ladies  of  America. 

*  Patriotic  League  of  the  Revolution. 
Indian  Republican  League. 

Sons  of  Liberty  (3d). 

*  Loyal  Women  of  American  Liberty. 
Freemen's  Protective  Silver  Federation. 
Minute  Men  of  '96. 

Ladies  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
*Lady  True  Blues  of  the  World  (Orange). 

*  Protestant  Knights  of  America. 

*  Loyal  Orange  Institution. 

*  Women's  Loyal  Orange  Association. 

*  Royal  Black  Knights  of  the  Camp  of  Israel. 

*  National  Farmers'  Alliance. 

*  Order  of  the  Mystic  Brotherhood. 

*  American  Order  United  Catholics  (anti-A.  P.  A.). 

The  germ  of  American  patriotic  and  po- 
litical secret  societies  may  be  traced  to 
the  Loyal  Orange  Institution,  founded  in 
Ireland  in  1795.  The  latter  had  Masonic 
antecedents,  and  for  a  few  years  had 
the  cooperation  of  individual  Freemasons. 
Its  cardinal  principle  was,  and  is,  loyalty 

*  Societies  marked  with  an  asterisk  are  still  in 
existence. 


INTRODUCTION 


XIX 


to  the  occupants  of  the  British  throne  and 
opposition  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
It  did  not  appear  in  the  United  States  as  an 
organization  until  1870,  but  Orangeism  did, 
and  the  members  of  earlier  American  patri- 
otic secret  societies  (1840-1855)  were  pro- 
nounced **' Native  Americans^'  and  anti- 
Roman  Catholic.  The  Orders  of  United 
American  Mechanics  (Senior  and  Junior), 
Sons  of  America,  Brotherhood  of  the  Union, 
American  Protestant  Association,  the  Know- 
Nothing  party  (Order  of  the  Star  Spangled 
Banner),  and  others,  were  conspicuous  dur- 
ing the  period  referred  to,  and  all,  except 
the  Know-Nothing  party,  exist  to-day,  with 
others  spreading  into  the  American  Pro- 
tective Association  movement,  which  has 
been  conspicuous  in  American  politics. 

American  college  secret  societies,  better 
known  as  Greek  letter  fraternities,  have  an 
indirect  connection  with  the  high  grades  of- 
Freemasonry  which  were  elaborated  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  in  some  instances  a 
more  direct  inspiration  from  the  parent 
secret  society.  They  constitute  a  social  and 
literary  aristocracy.  There  are  nearly  thirty " 
important  ones,  and  twice  as  many  more  of 
consequence.  Nearly  all  have  Greek  letter 
titles,  usually  the  initials  of  a  motto.  Phi 
Beta  Kappa,  the  oldest,  was  founded  at  the 
College  of  William  and  Mary,  Virginia,  in 
1776,  whence  it  was  taken  to  Yale  and 
Harvard,  and  thence  to  other  colleges.  Rival 
Greek  letter  fraternities  did  not  begin  to 
appear  until  1825,  since  which  time  they 
have  multiplied  rapidly.  Rivahy  between 
them  is  keen,  and  college  social  life  is  char- 
acterized according  as  a  student  is  a  mem- 
ber of  one  or  another,  or  of  none  of  them. 
Many  of  the  best-known  names  in  the  ])ro- 
fessions,  in  literature  and  in  political  life, 
may  be  found  in  the  lists  of  college  alumni, 
members  of  these  fraternities. 

COLLEGE  GREEK  LETTER  AND  OTHER 

FRATERNITIES. 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  (founded  at  William  and  Mary)— . 
Chi  Delta  Theta  (Yale). 
Chi  Phi  (Princeton).  — 


^-\Kappa  Alpha  (Union).  — 
-VSignia  Phi  (Union).     — ■ 

Delta  Phi  (Union). 

I.  K;  A.  (Trinity). 
-\-A-lpha  Delta  Phi  (Hamilton).     — 
.   Skull  and  Bones  (local,  Yale). 
'"\i*si  Upsilon  (Union).  ——' 

^*  "  Mystical  7  "  (Wcsleyan). 
H^eta  Theta  Pi  (Miami).  ' 

yC^'hi  Psi  (Union).  — 

Scroll  and  Key  (local,  Yale). 
*"The  Rainbow"  (Univ.  Mississippi), 
.^^^elta  Kappa  Epsilon  (Yale).        -      "^ 
■^^ta  Psi  (Univ.  New  York).      - 

Delta  Psi  (Columbia). 
\;>^eta  Delta  Chi  (Union).           — 
'><I|*hi  Gamma  Delta  (Wash,  and  Jefferson).  

Phi  Delta  Theta  (Miami).  

>Plii  Kappa  Sigma  (Univ.  Pennsylvania).  — 

Phi  Kappa  Psi  (JelT.,  Pennsylvania). 
)^i  Phi  (Princeton).  ~ 

>-Sigma  Chi  (Miami).       — 
5-^igma  Alpha  Epsilon  (Univ.  Alabama).  — 
^..Chi  Phi  (Univ.  Nortli  Carolina).  — 
"^hi  Phi  (Hobart). 
^"^Delta  Tail  Delta  (Bethany).    '^ 
'  Alpha  Tau  Omega  (Virginia  Mil.  Inst.). — 

Kappa  Alpha,  Southern  (Washington-Lee). 

Kappa  Sigma  (Univ.  Virginia).  — 

Pi  Kappa  Alpha  (Univ.  Virginia).    — 
->Si_gma  Nu  (Virginia  Mil.  Inst.).'      — 
'  Wolf's  Head  (Yale). 

Local  Greek  Letter,  and  other  College  Societies: 
Phi  Nu  Theta  (Wesleyan)  ;  Kappa  Kappa 
Kajipa  (Dartmouth) :  Delta  Psi  (2d)  (Univ. 
Vt.)  ;  Alpha  Sigma  Pi  (Univ.  Vt.);  Alpha 
Sigma  Phi  (Marietta) ;  He  Boule  (Soph.  Soc. 
Yale) ;  Eta  Phi  (Soph.  Soc.  Yale)  ;  Lambda 
Iota  (Univ.  Vt.). 

Professional:  Alpha  Chi  Omega  (music);  Phi 
Alpha  Sigma  (medicine)  ;  Phi  Delta  Phi  (law)  ; 
Phi  Sigma  Kappa  (medicine)  ;  Nu  Sigma  Nu 
(medicine)  ;  Q.  T.  V.  (agriculture). 

Scientific:  Berzelius  ( Yale)  ;  Phi  Zeta  Mu  (Dart- 
mouth); Theta  XI  ;  Sigma  Delta  Chi  (Yale). 

^Yomen's  Societies :  Alpha  Beta  Tau  ;  Alpha  Phi  ; 
"Xappa  Alpha  Theta  ;  Beta  Sigma  Oraicron  ; 
"Gamnnj^  Phi  Beta  ;  Delta  Gamma;  Delta  Delta 

Delta :    Kappa   Kappa    (Jamma  ;    P.    E.    0.  ; 

Sigma  Kappa  ;  ^i  Beta  Phi. 

\  Jlotiorary  :  Sigma  Chi  (local,  Cornell) 

*  Extinct. 

t  Also  Chi  Delta  Theta  (local,  Yale),  previously 
named. 


INTRODUCTION 


Extinct :  Alpha  Sigma  Theta  ;    Delta   Beta  Xi  ; 

Delta  Kappa  (freshman) ;  Kappa  Sigma  Epsilon 

(freshman)  ;  Kappa   Sigma   Phi  (sophomore) ; 

Phi  Theta  Psi,  all  local  Yale  societies. 
Non-Secret :  Delta  Upsilon  (Williams)  ;  Gamma  Nu 

(local,  Yale,  extinct). 

The  earlier  offspring  of  the  Masonic  Fra- 
ternity included  the  Odd  Fellows  (England), 
1739  ;  Druids,  1761;  and  the  Foresters, 
1780,  "friendly"  societies,  with  Masonic 
thumbmarks  on  their  rituals  and  in  their 
ceremonials,  but  differing  in  that  their 
primary  purposes  were  to  pay  to  members 
specified  sick,  disability,  funeral,  and  other 
benefits.  They  are  conspicuous  among  hun- 
dreds of  other  English  friendly  societies, 
and  are  the  forerunners  of  the  American  in- 
surance or  secret  beneficiary  societies,  of 
which  there  are  more  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty.  The  Odd  Fellows  were  introduced 
into  the  United  States  in  1819,  the  Forest- 
ers in  1834  (later  in  1864),  and  the  Druids 
about  1839.  The  Improved  Order  of  Eed 
Men,  already  referred  to,  is  the  oldest 
friendly  society  of  American  origin.  The 
B'nai  B'rith,  a  Hebrew  friendly  or  relief  so- 
ciety, was  formed  at  New  York  city  in  1843, 
and  has  several  followers. 

BENEVOLENT  OR  "FRIENDLY" 
SOCIETIES. 

Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Improved  Order  of  Red  Men.  . 

Ancient  Order  of  Foresters. 

Foresters  of  America. 

Knights  of  Pythias. 

Grand  United  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  (negro). 

United  Ancient  Order  of  Druids. 

Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians. 

Irish  National  Order  of  Foresters. 

Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

Sons  of  Herman. 

German  Order  of  Harugari. 

Ancient  and  Illustrious  Order,  Knights  of  Malta. 

Actors  Order  of  Friendship. 

Concatenated  Order  of  Hoo  Hoo. 

Artisans'  Mutual  Order  of  Protection. 

Order  of  St.  George. 

Order  of  Scottish  Clans. 

Order  of  the  World. 

Order  of  Sanhedrim. 

Ancient  Essenic  Order. 


Knights  of  Pythias  of  North  and  South  America, 
Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  (negro). 

*  Total  Abstinence  Friendly  Societies :  Independent 
Order  of  Rechabites ;  Sons  of  Temperance  ; 
Independent  Order  of  Good  Templars  ;  Royal 
Templars  of  Temperance  ;  Independent  Order 
of  Good  Samaritans  (negro),  and  others. 

The  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen, 
founded  in  Pennsylvania  by  a  Freemason 
just  after  the  Civil  War,  is  the  original 
mutual  assessment  beneficiary  (protection  in 
the  nature  of  insurance)  secret  society,  and 
has  had  many  successful  imitators.  The 
total  membership  of  these  organizations  is 
about  2,000,000,  the  aggregate  protection 
is  fully  $4,000,000,000,  and  the  approximate 
annual  sum  paid  relatives  of  deceased  mem- 
bers is  about  $30,000,000.  The  Knights 
of  Pythias,  formed  after  the  Civil  War, 
combines  the  features  of  both  friendly  and 
the  assessment  beneficiary  societies.  Nearly 
all  the  twenty-five  secret  labor  organiza- 
tions, all  of  which  have  some  of  the  features 
of  friendly  society  and  other  assessment 
beneficiary  plans,  were  formed  within  a  few 
years  after  the  organization  of  the  Knights 
of  Labor,  in  1868,  but  the  older  Total 
Abstinence  secret  societies,  out  of  a  dozen 
in  that  group,  appeared  about  sixty  years 
ago. 

MUTUAL  ASSESSMENT  FRATERNITIES. 

Ancient  Order  United  Workmen. 
Knights  of  the  Mystic  Chain. 
Knights  of  Honor. 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle. 
Legion  of  the  Red  Cross. 
Knights  of  Birmingham. 
Order  of  the  Golden  Cross. 
Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor. 
Royal  Arcanum. 
Shield  of  Honor. 
American  Legion  of  Honor. 
Order  of  Chosen  Friends. 
Order  of  Sparta. 
Order  of  the  Red  Cross. 
United  Order  Pilgrim  Fathers. 
Iowa  Legion  of  Honor. 
Home  Circle. 

*In  some  instances  with  assessment  beneficiary 
features. 


INTRODUCTION 


ZZl 


Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 

Modern  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

Home  Forum  Benevolent  Order. 

Loyal  Knights  and  Ladies. 

Order  of  United  Friends. 

National  Union. 

United  States  Benefit  Fraternity. 

Protected  Home  Circle. 

Royal  Society  of  Good  Fellows. 

Knights  of  the  Maccabees. 

Knights  of  the  Golden  Chain. 

Independent  Order  of  Chosen  Friends. 

Knights  of  the  Golden  Rule. 

Royal  League. 

Northwestern  Legion  of  Honor. 

Grand  Fraternity. 

New  England  Order  of  Protection. 

United  Fraternal  League. 

Order  of  Unity. 

Empire  Knights  of  Relief. 

United  Friends  of  Michigan. 

Fraternal  Aid  Association. 

National  Protective  League. 

Modern  Knights  Fidelity  League. 

Mystic  Workers  of  the  World. 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  Security. 

Canadian  Order  of  Chosen  Friends. 

National  Fraternity. 

Tribe  of  Ben  Hur. 

Columbus  League. 

Order  of  Iroquois. 

Prudent  Patricians  of  Pompeii. 

Home  Palladium. 

Golden  Star  Fraternity. 

Independent  Order  of  Foresters. 

Independent  Order  of  Foresters  of  Illinois. 

Canadian  Order  of  Foresters. 

United  Order  of  Foresters  of  Minnesota. 

Pennsylvania  Order  of  Foresters. 

Order  of  Heptasophs,  or  S.  W.  M. 

Improved  Order  of  Heptasophs. 

Order  of  Continental  Union. 

American  Insurance  Union. 

Independent  Order  Chosen  Friends  of  Illinois. 

Chosen  Friends  of  Canada. 

League  of  American  German  Friends. 

Order  of  Select  Friends. 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  the  Golden  Star. 

Loyal  Additional  Benefit  Association. 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  the  Fireside. 

Knights  of  the  Globe. 

Knights  of  Sobriety,  Fidelity,  and  Integrity. 

Independent  Order  of  Mechanics. 

National  Reserve  Association. 

Royal  Tribe  of  Joseph. 

Order  of  Mutual  Protection. 


National  Fraternal  Union. 

Fraternal  Mystic  Circle. 

American  Benefit  Society. 

Order  of  Star  of  Bethlehem. 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  the  Golden  Precept. 

Western  Knights  Protective  Association. 

Light  of  the  Ages. 

Order  United  Commercial  Travelers. 

Fraternal  Union  of  America. 

Ancient  Order  of  Freesmiths. 

Improved  Order  Knights  of  Pythias. 

Patriarchal  Circle  of  America. 

Knights  of  the  Loyal  Guard. 

Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West. 

Royal  Standard  of  America. 

Ancient  Order  of  Pyramids. 

Hebrew :  Independent  Order  B'nai  B'rith  ;  Inde- 
pendent Order  Free  Sons  of  Israel  ;  Order  of 
B'rith  Abraham  ;  Independent  Order  Sons 
of  Benjamin  ;  Kesher  Shel  Barzel ;  Improved 
Order  B'nai  B'rith  ;  Independent  Order  Sons 
of  Abraham  ;  Free  Sons  of  Judah  ;  Ahavas 
Israel  ;  Independent  Order  of  American  Israel- 
ites, and  American  Star  Order. 

Roman  Catholic  :  Catholic  Benevolent  Legion  ; 
Knights  of  Columbus  ;  Catholic  Knights  of  Illi- 
nois ;  Catholic  Order  of  Foresters  ;  Knights  of 
Father  Mathew  ;  Irish  Catholic  Benevolent 
Union  ;  Catholic  Mutual  Benevolent  Union  ; 
Catholic  Women's  Benevolent  Legion  ;  St.  Pat- 
rick's Alliance  of  America,  and  others. 

Negro  :  United  Brethren  of  Friendship  and  Sisters 
of  the  Mysterious  Ten ;  International  Order 
of  Twelve,  Knights  and  Daughters  of  Tabor  ; 
Grand  United  Order  Galilean  Fishermen. 

SHORT  TERM  ASSESSMENT  SOCIETIES. 

Progressive  Endowment  Guild. 

Sexennial  League. 

Eclectic  Assembly. 

Royal  Benefit  Society. 

Order  of  Pente. 

Order  of  Algi^. 

Order  of  Iron  Hall,  Baltimore  City. 

Modern  Order  of  Craftsmen. 

International  Fraternal  Alliance. 

Order  of  Home  Builders. 

Columbus  Mutual  Benefit  Association. 

Order  of  Equity. 

National  Dotare. 

The  assessment  beneficiary  fraternities 
and  sisterhoods  have  a  sentimental  as  well 
as  a  practical  basis.     In  smaller  cities  they 


INTRODUCTION 


usurp  the  club,  and,  where  men  and  women 
are  admitted,  form  centres  from  which 
emanates  a  vital  social  influence.  Begin- 
ning about  1840,  after  the  subsidence  of  the 
anti-Masouic  agitation.  Freemasonry  in  the 
United  States,  as  in  England  and  many 
other  countries,  has  grown  and  prospered 
beyond  precedent,  leaving  in  its  wake  more 
than  thirty  occult,  hermetic,  theosophic,  or 
religious  brotherhoods  or  societies.  The 
transplanted  English  friendly  society  finds 
congenial  soil  here,  but  is  outnumbered  by 
the  assessment  beneficiary  fraternities,  many 
of  which  admit  both  men  and  women.  The 
latter  variety  of  the  modern  secret  society 
has  commercialized  the  mechanism  of  older 
fraternities  by  carrying  on  a  system  of 
cooperative  insurance  in  brotherhoods  de- 
signed, in  some  instances,  to  advance  social 
or  political  objects,  total  abstinence,  cooper- 
ative buying  and  selling,  the  cultivation 
of  patriotism,  the  protection  of  the  interests 
of  labor,  and  the  propagation  of  partisan 
political  views.  On  the  whole,  it  has  en- 
couraged the  development  of  j^ractical 
cooperation  more,  j)erhaps,  than  any  other 
one  influence. 

MYSTICAL  AND   THEOSOPHIC AL. 
Order  of  the  Omah  Language. 
Temple  of  Isis. 
Society  of  Eleusis. 
Brotherhood  of  the  West  Gate. 
Order  of  the  Magi. 
Hei'inetic  Brothers  of  Luxor. 
Order   of  the  S.   S.   S.  and  Brotherhood  of   Z.  Z. 

R.  R.  Z.  Z. 
Order  of  the  Suii. 
Brotherhood  of  the  New  Life. 
Ancient  Order  of  Osiris. 
Esoterists  of  the  West. 
Rochester  Brotherhood. 
Order  of  S.  E.  K. 

Fifth  Order  of  Melchizedek  and  Egyptian  Sphinx. 
Order  of  the  Wliite  Shrine  of  Jerusalem. 
Genii  of  Nations,  Knowledge,  and  Religions. 
Altruistic  Order  of  Mysteries. 

LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS. 

"  The  International." 
Knights  of  Labor. 
"Triangle  Club." 


"  The  Brotherhood." 

Amalgamated     Association     of     Iron    and    Steel 

Workers. 
American  Flint  Glass  Workers'  Union. 
International  Association  of  Machinists. 
National  Union  of  Iron  and  Steel  Workers. 
Knights  of  St.  Crispin. 
Order  of  Commercial  Telegraphers. 

Railtvay  Brotherhoods :  Locomotive  Engineers  ; 
Conductors  ;  Firemen  ;  Telegraphers  ;  Train- 
men ;  Switchmen  ;  Carmen  ;  American  Rail- 
way Union. 

COOPERATIVE  AND  EDUCATIONAL. 

The  Wheel. 

Patrons  of  Husbandry. 

Patrons  of  Industry. 

Sovereigns  of  Husbandry. 

Sovereigns  of  Industry. 

Brotherhood  of  the  Cooperative  Commonwealth. 

SOCIALISTIC. 
Universal  Republic  of  the  Earth. 
New  Order  of  Builders. 
Crowned  ReiDublic. 
Commonwealth  of  Jesus. 
Order  of  the  Grand  Orient. 

SOCIAL    AND    RECREATIVE. 

Sons  of  Malta  (extinct). 
Oriental  Order  of  Humility. 
Sons  of  Adam  (extinct). 
Loyal  Order  of  Moose. 
Independent  Order  of  Old  Men. 
Sons  of  Idle  Rest. 
The  Orientals. 
Order  of  Woodchoppers. 
Independent  Order  of  Gophers. 

The  several  laAv  and  order,  Irish  and 
other  revolutionary  societies,  and  various 
lawless  secret  associations  which  have  been 
prominent  for  brief  periods  within  the  cen- 
tury, do  not  require  extended  discussion. 

REVOLUTIONARY    SOCIETIES. 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle. 
Ku  Klux  Klan. 
Union  League  of  America. 
Fenian  Brotherhood. 
Clau-na-Gael. 

Knights  of  the  Inner  Circle. 
Brotherhood  of  United  Irishmen. 
United  Brotherhood. 
Irish  Republican  Brotherhood. 
Industrial  Army. 


INTRODUCTION 


Iron  Brotherhood. 

Order  of  Reubens  (Patriot  War). 

League  of  National  Armenian  Race. 

OTHERS. 
Order  of  Mules.  The  Mafia. 

Tramp  "Fraternities."    White  Caps, 
The  Camorra.  Molly  Maguires. 

Here,  in  democratic  America,  we  can 
boast  no  Order  of  the  Bath  or  Garter,  no 
ribbon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  or  Iron 
Cross  ;  but  there  may  well  bo  reason  for 
asking  whether  decorations  of  merit  created 
by  100,000  or  500,000  or  1,000,000   mem- 


bers of  an  organization  founded  to  alleviate 
suffering,  to  inculcate  good  morals,  loyalty 
to  country,  and  to  do  good  unto  others — 
whether  such  an  order  of  merit  is  not  as 
honorable  as  one  created  by  prince  or  poten- 
tate who  links  Iiis  name  with  ribbon,  cross, 
or  wreath  ?  The  former  are  the  outgiv- 
ings of  armies  which  meet  in  private,  but 
whose  purposes  of  benevolence  and  peace 
are  known  of  all,  mighty  influences  for  the 
spread  of  true  fraternity.  They  are  often 
hardly  less  resplendent  than  decorations 
conferred  by  royalty,  but  are  often  more 
worthily  bestowed. 


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ANCIENT   ARABIC   ORDER   OF   NOBLES   OF   THE   MYSTIC   SHRINE 


MASOlSriC, 
MYSTICAL,  OCCULT,  AND  THEOSOPHICAL  SOCIETIES. 


Altrurian  Order   of    Mysteries. — Ke- 

oently  organized  at  the  Soutli.  Untraced. 
Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles  of 
the  ]>Iystic  Shrine. — A  social  and  benevo- 
lent society  with  a  ritual  and  history  linked 
to  Arabic  traditions,  in  which  Oriental  mys- 
ticism, names,  legends,  and  titles  are  freely 
employed.  It  also  has  a  secret  purpose,  made 
known  only  to  those  who  encircle  the  ]\Iystic 
Shrine.  None  except  Masonic  Knights 
Templars  or  those  Avho  have  attained  the 
thirty-second  degree.  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite  of  Freemasonry,  are  eligible 
to  membership.  It  is  not  a  Masonic  Order 
and  forms  no  part  of  Freemasonry,  is  in- 
dependent in  origin  and  government,  and 
is  associated  with  the  Craft  only  because 
it  was  established  by  eminent  Freemasons 
and  because  none  but  Freemasons  of  high 
degree  may  become  acquainted  with  its 
mysteries.  Dr.  Walter  M.  Fleming,  33°, 
and  William  J.  Florence,  32°,  both  of  Xew 
York,  are  responsible  for  the  existence  of 
*'  The  Shrine,"  as  the  organization  is  fa- 
miliarly called.  In  a  letter  Avritten  by 
Mr.  Florence  in  1882,  he  explains  that 
he  was  introduced  into  a  meeting  of  the 
Order  at  Marseilles,  France,  in  1S70,  b}-- 
a  banker's  clerk  who  "  knew  him  to  be  a 
Mason  "  and  could  vouch  for  him  as  such, 
where  he  found  many  distinguished  visi- 
tors and  members  who  seemed  absorbed  in 
learning  ''how  the  French  of  Marseilles 
had  succeeded  in  getting  possession  of  such 
interesting  secrets."  Then  follows  a  refer- 
ence to  the  ceremonies  of  the  evening,  the 
costumes,  paraphernalia,  and  scenic  effects, 
and  the  explanation  that  Yusef  Bey,  tlie 
Illustrious  Potentate  of  Bokhara  Shrine,  at 
Marseilles,  on  being  begged  for  a  coj^y  of 


the  laws  and  ritual  of  the  Order,  gave  them 
to  liim  a  day  or  two  later,  when  he  (Flor- 
ence) sailed  for  Algiers.  The  inference  is 
that  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  abroad  must 
have  been  lax  in  its  regulations  twenty-five 
or  thirty  years  ago,  if  it  permitted  distin- 
guished gentlemen  who  were  not  members 
of  the  Order  to  visit  its  Shrines,  and  pre- 
sented them  with  copies  of  its  ritual  and 
laws  when  they  went  away.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  Mr.  Florence  went  on  to  Algiers, 
where,  he  says,  he  visited  the  Shrine  of  the 
Mogribins  and  found  another  company  of 
Ara]}s,  bankers,  merchants,  learned  Mo- 
hammedans, and  others  "who  are  passion- 
ately fond  of  perpetuating  ancient  customs 
which  increase  their  social  pleasures."  As 
he  gives  no  account  of  being  initiated  into 
the  Ancient  Arabic  Order,  and  intimates 
that  his  being  a  Freemason  was  sufficient 
to  gain  admission  to  Bokhara  Shrine  at 
Marseilles,  the  letter  leaves  much  to  be  de- 
sired. Other  accounts  of  the  Order  add 
that  Florence  returned  to  the  United  States 
in  1871,  and  suggested  to  Dr.  Walter  M. 
Fleming  that  they  establish  ''the  Shrine" 
at  New  York.  The  latter  had  already 
"  received  detached  and  mutilated  sections 
of  a  translation  of  the  ritual,"  whicli  had 
been  "  brought  to  America  by  a  member,"  * 
together  with  some  vague  history  and  ritu- 

*  The  ritual  now  in  use  is  stated  to  be  "a  trans- 
lation from  the  original  Arabic"  found  "in  the 
aifhivos  of  the  Order,  at  Aleppo,"  whence  it  was 
brought  in  1860  to  London  by  Rizk  Allah  Ilassoon 
EfFcndee,  and  later  placed  in  the  possession  of  Dr. 
Fleming,  to  whom  jurisdiction  over  the  Order  for 
America  was  given  by  the  Arabic  scholar  named. 
In  Arabia  this  ritual  is  known  as  the  "Pillar  of 
Society,"  and  called  the  "  Unwritten  Law,"  in  dis- 
tinction from  the  Koran,  or  "Written  Law." 


ANCIENT   ARABIC   ORDER   OF   NOBLES   OF   THE   MYSTIC    SHRINE 


alistic  sections  bronglit  from  Cairo  by  Sher- 
wood C.  Campbell  of  Xew  York.  But  as 
the  Florence  ritual  "'  came  from  Oriental 
Europe"  and  "was  marked  with  certain 
sections  of  the  Koran  for  notes  and  allu- 
sions "'  Avhich  facilitated  revision  for  use  in 
America,  Dr.  Fleming.  Avith  the  assistance 
of  Professor  A.  L.  Rawson,  comj)iled  the 
work  which  became  the  foundation  of  the 
Order  in  America.  Dr.  Fleming  recounts 
the  incidents  connected  with  organizing  the 
Shrine  in  the  United  States,  as  follows  : 

31  r.  Florence  was  entertained  as  a  Mason  at 
Marseilles,  in  Bokhara  Temple  of  the  Arabic  Bek- 
tash.  lie  at  this  time  simply  witnessed  the  open- 
ing session  of  the  exoteric  ceremonials  which  char- 
acterize the  politico-religious  order  of  Bektash  of 
Oriental  Euroj\e.  A  monitorial,  historic,  and  ex- 
planatory manuscript  "lie  i»,l'^T  received  there.  It  did 
not  embrace  the  esoteric  Inner  Twnple  exemplifica- 
tion or  obligation,  nor  the  "  Unwritten  Law,"which 
is  never  imparted  to  anyone  except  from  mouth  to 
ear.  Shortly  afterward  ]Mr.  Florence  was  similarly 
favored  in  Algiers  and  Aleppo.  Through  letters  and 
conunendations  he  finally  secured  the  manuscript 
monitor,  history  and  descriptive  matter  from  Avhich 
sprang  the  Order  in  this  country.  It  was  in  Algiers 
and  Aleppo  that  he  was  received  into  the  Inner  Tem- 
ple luider  the  domain  of  the  Crescent  and  first  be- 
came possessor  of  the  esoteric  work,  the  "  Unwritten 
Law  "  and  the  Shayk's  obligation.  Subsequently  he 
visited  Cairo,  Egypt,  and  was  admitted,  and  col- 
lected more  of  Oriental  history  and  the  manuscript 
of  "  Memorial  Ceremonials."  But  ]\Ir.  Florence  was 
never  fully  recognized  or  possessed  of  authority  until 
long  after  his  return  to  America.  All  he  possessed 
was  a  disconnected  series  of  sheets  in  Arabic  and 
French,  with  some  marginal  memoranda  made  by 
himself  from  verbal  elucidation  in  Aleppo.  Through 
Professor  Albert  L.  Rawson  these,  with  others  re- 
ceived afterward  through  correspondence  abroad, 
comprised  the  translations  from  which  the  Order 
started  here.  Mr.  Florence  and  myself  receiA'ed 
authority  to  introduce  the  Order  here. 

On  June  IG,  1871,  at  Masonic  Hall,  Xo. 
114  East  Thirteenth  Street,  Xew  York  City, 
Messrs.  Fleming  and  Florence  conferred 
the  "new  Order"  upon  the  following  Scot- 
tish Rite  Freemasons  :  Edward  Eddy,  33°; 
Oswald  Merle  d'Aubigne,  32°;  James  S. 
Chappell,  32°;  John  A."  Moore,  32°;  Charles 
T.  McClenachan,  33°;  William  S.  Paterson, 


33°;  George  W.  Millar,  33°;  Albert  P.  Mo- 
riarty,.33°;  Daniel  Sickels,  33°;  John  W. 
Simons,  33°;  Sherwood  C.  Cami^bell,  32°; 
who,  together  with  Albert  L.  Rawson,  32°, 
"Arabic  translator,"  September  26,  ]  872, 
instituted  ^lecca  Temple,  A.  A.  0.  X.  M.  S., 
the  first  or  parent  Temple  in  the  United 
States.  As  "'the  next  session''  was  held 
January  12,  1874,  it  may  be  seen  that  the 
Order  did, not  grow  rapidly  in  the  first  few 
years.  On  January  4,  1875,  Damascus 
Temj)le,  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  was  organized, 
which  gave  soiue  impetus  to  the  Order,  and 
Dr.  Fleming,  Potentate  of  Mecca  from  1871 
until  1886,  invested  the  following  thirty- 
third  degree  Freemasons  with  the  preroga- 
tives of  Past  Potentates,  to  enable  them  to 
cooperate  actively  in  establishing  subordi- 
nate Temples:  OrrinWelch,  Syracuse,  X.Y. ; 
John  D.  Williams,  Elmira,  X.  Y. ;  Charles 
H.  Thomson,  Corning,  X.  Y. ;  Townsend 
Fondey,  John  S.  Dickerman,  and  Robert 
H.  Waterman,  Albany,  X.  Y. ;  John  F. 
Collins,  Xew  York,  X.  Y. ;  John  L.  Stet- 
tinius,  Cincinnati,  0.;  Vincent  L.  Hurl- 
burt,  Chicago,  111. ;  Samuel  H.  Harper, 
Pittsburg,  Pa.;  and  George  Scott,  Pater- 
son, X.  J.  In  June,  1876,  an  Imj^erial 
(governing)  Council  was  organized  at  Xew 
York  City,  with  the  following  list  of  offi- 
cials :  Walter  M.  Fleming,  Xew  York,  Im- 
perial Potentate;  George  F.  Loder,  Roches- 
ter, Deputy  Potentate  ;  Philip  F.  Lenhart,. 
Brooklyn,  Chief  Rabban  ;  EdAvard  M.  L. 
Elder s,  Xew  York,  Assistant  Rabban ; 
AVilliam  H.  Whiting,  Rochester,  High 
Priest ;  Samuel  R.  Carter,  Rochester,  Orien- 
tal Guide  ;  Aaron  L.  Xorthrop,  Xew  York, 
Treasurer  ;  William  S.  Paterson,  Xew  York, 
Recorder  ;  Albert  P.  Moriarty,  Xew  York, 
Financial  Secretary ;  John  L.  Stettinius, 
Cincinnati,  First  Ceremonial  Master  ;  Ben- 
son Sherwood,  Xew  York,  Second  Cere- 
monial Master  ;  Samuel  Harper,  Pittsburg, 
Marshal  ;  Frank  H.  Bascom,  Montpelier, 
Captain  of  the  Guard  ;  and  George  Scott, 
Paterson,  Outer  Guard.  Meetings  of  the 
Imperial  Council  have  been  held  annually. 


ANCIENT   ARABIC   ORDER   OF   NOBLES   OF   THE   MYSTIC   SHRINE 


and  officers  elected  triennially.  At  the 
fifth  session  of  Mecca  Temple,  January  16, 
1877,  there  was  a  large  increase  in  mem- 
bership, and  it  was  announced  that  the 
Imperial  Council  had  perfected  its  ''ritual, 
statutes,  history,  diplomas,  dispensations, 
and  charters ;''  that  "members,  Temples, 
deputies,  and  representatives  now  extend 
from  the  extreme  east  to  the  west,  and 
from  the  north  to  the  south  of  our  juris- 
diction,^' and  tliat  the  Order  was  destined 
to  become,  what  has  proved  to  be  the  case, 
"a  most  popular  and  powerful  one  in 
America."  In  that  year  there  were  four 
Temples  represented  at  the  Imperial  Coun- 
cil, and  dispensations  were  granted  to  form 
others.  In  1879  Mecca  Temple  took  on 
new  life,  largely  through  the  efforts  of 
Augustus  W.  Peters,  Charles  H.  Ileyzer, 
and  Joseph  B.  Eakins,  who  laid  the  founda- 
tions for  the  elaborate  ceremonial,  gorgeous 
scenic  effects,  and  realistic  dramatic  rendi- 
-tions  of  the  ritual  of  the  Order,  Avhich  have 
since  distinguished  it.  By  the  end  of  1879 
there  were  reported  thirteen  Temjjles,  with 
a  total  membership  of  4:38  Nobles,  since 
which  time  the  progress  of  the  Order  has 
been  one  of  uninterrupted  prosperity.  At  a 
public  installation  ceremony  at  Mecca  Tem- 
ple in  1884,  many  ladies  were  present,  and 
so  great  was  the  interest  that  ladies'  receji- 
tions  have  since  been  a  feature  among 
entertainments  for  which  the  Shrine  is 
noted.  To  give  them  permanence  they 
have  been  invested  with  a  ceremonial,  and 
gatherings  of  this  character  are  now  known 
as  Courts  of  the  Daughters  of  Isis.  This 
organization  was  formed  October  30,  1888, 
to  cultivate  social  relations  between  ladies 
of  the  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  Its 
government  is  independent,  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  Mecca  Court,  from  which 
other  Temples  may  receive  charters  en- 
abling them  to  establish  Courts. 

The  extension  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  dur- 
ing the  past  ten  years  has  exceeded  all 
precedent  among  like  societies.  Temples 
have  been  established  at  leadinsr  centres  ui 


all  States,  each  with  a  distinctive  Arabic  or 
other  Oriental  name  and  form,  rallying 
points  not  only  for  prominent  Freemasons 
who  reside  at  those  cities,  but  veritable 
Meccas  of  hospitality,  good  fellowshii),  and 
true  brotherhood  for  all  visiting  Nobles. 
Not  the  least  characteristic  among  agree- 
able features  of  the  Order  are  the  pilgrim- 
ages by  members  of  one  or  more  Temples 
to  sister  Temples,  or  to  distant  points  of 
general  interest,  which,  with  sight-seeing, 
and  the  extension  and  reception  of  Shrine 
hospitality,  usually  provide  enjoyable  ex- 
cursions of  a  week  or  a  fortnight's  dura- 
tion. Pilgrimages  from  all  over  the  country 
to  sessions  of  the  Imperial  Council,  by  spe- 
cial trains  bearing  Nobles  decorated  with 
fezzes  and  crescent  tiger-claws,  constitute 
invasions  of  objective  points  which  the  in- 
habitants thereof  seldom,  if  ever,  forget. 
It  is  likewise  an  amiable  custom  to  organize 
family  theatre  parties  at  least  once  eacli 
year.  In  some  instances  the  Nobles,  who 
are  decorated  with  fezzes  and  claws,  and  are 
accompanied  by  wives  and  families,  require 
the  entire  seating  capacity  of  theatres,  and 
it  is  not  infrequent  that  one  or  more  of 
those  behind  the  footlights  on  such  occa- 
sions are  entitled  to,  and  do  wear,  the  mystic 
symbols  of  the  Order.  These  entertain- 
ments are  supplemented  annually  by  carni- 
vals, at  which  only  children  of  the  Masonic 
"nobility"  are  admitted,  to  be  entertained 
by  members  of  the  Order.  With  the  annual 
public  receptions  and  carnivals,  where  the 
decorations  include  scenes  from  Arab  life 
and  a  wealth  of  Oriental  ornamentation,  the 
general  public  at  larger  cities  is  familiar. 

It  is  difficult  to  analyze  and  reconcile  the 
somewhat  fragmentary  accounts  of  the 
origin  and  development  of  the  Arabic  Order 
of  wiiich  the  Shrine  is  said  to  be  a  de- 
scendant, and  it  may  well  be  doubted 
whether  such  a  task  can  be  successfully 
performed.  The  "Origin  and  History  of 
the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of 
the  Mystic  Shrine,"  compiled  and  collated 
bv  Dr.  Walter  M.  Fleming  and  William  S. 


ANCIENT   ARABIC   ORDER   OF   NOBLES    OF   THE   MYSTIC  SHRINE 


Paterson,  copyright,  1894,  by  Andrew  H. 
Kellogg,  New  York  City,  states  that  it  was 
instituted  by  Kalif  Alee,  "^cousin-german 
and  son-in-law  "  of  Mohammed,  in  the  year 
644  A.D.,  at  Mecca,  Arabia,  ''as  an  Inqui- 
sition or  Vigilance  Committee  to  dispense 
justice  upon  criminals  who  escajied  their 
just  deserts  through  the  tardiness  of  the 
courts,  and  also  to  promote  religious  tolera- 
tion among  cultured  men  of  all  nations  ; " 
evidently- a  sort  of  Arabic  Vehmgerichte,  or 
twenty-first  degree.  The  ceremonial  in 
this  organization  was  crude,  membership 
being  acquired  on  taking  the  "Arab  oath/' 
It  is  declared  to  have  had  a  continuous 
existence  in  Oriental  countries,  and  "  now 
gathers  arouiid  its  Shrines  the  best  educated 
and  most  cultivated  classes  among  Moham- 
medans, Hebrews,  and  Christians."  Dr. 
Fleming  writes  that  ''it  is  derived  from  a 
politico-religious  order  of  the  Arabic  Mo- 
hammedans which  extends  all  over  Europe, 
termed  the  Bektash  ;"  but  in  the  "  Origin 
and  History  "  it  is  stated  that  the  Bektash 
are  merely  among  the  "  most  honored  pa- 
trons of  the  Nobles,"  whom  it  protected 
''in  a  time  of  great  peril."  The  Bektash 
are  said  to  number  several  hundred  thou- 
sand, and  to  have  headquarters  at  Cairo, 
Damascus,  Jerusalem,  Smyrna,  Constanti- 
nople, Adrianople,  Teheran,  Benares,  Tan- 
gier, Oran,  Mecca,  and  at  other  cities  in  the 
far  East.  The  chief  of  these  dervishes  at 
Mecca  is  declared  to  be  the  principal  officer 
of  the  Arabic  Mystic  Shrine.  It  will  justly 
surprise  many  students  of  "  Secret  Societies 
of  All  Ages"  to  learn  that  Adam  Weis- 
haupt,  the  founder  of  the  Illuminati  in 
Bavaria,  in  1776,  is  claimed  "  among  the 
modern  promoters  of  the  principles  of  the 
Order"  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  in  Europe,  as 
well  as  Frederick  the  G-reat,  Mirabeau, 
Groethe,  Spinoza,  Kant,  Lord  Bacon,  Ca- 
vour,  Mazzini,  Garibaldi,  Victor  Emanuel, 
and  others,  most  of  whom  are  known  to  have 
been  Freemasons.  It  would  seem  as  if  this 
discovery  would  have  been  sufficient  to  en- 
able the  founders  of  the  American  Order  to 


have  explained  why  the  Society  abroad  had 
long  been  carried  within  the  Masonic  bod}^, 
and  to  have  given  it,  had  they  so  desired,  a 
distinctly  Masonic  alliance.  Some  of  the 
recognized  Orders  appendent  to  Free- 
masonry have  had  less  right  to  claim  that 
honor.  But  as  membership  in  the  Order  of 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  in  America  is 
confined  to  Freemasons,  its  founders  here 
may  be  regarded  as  having  builded  with  dis- 
cretion, ingenuity,  and  Avisdom. 

The  jewel  of  the  Order  is  a  crescent,  gen- 
erally made  of  the  claws  of  the  Bengal  tiger, 
united  at  the  bases  with  a  gold  setting. 
The  sphinx  is  engraved  on  one  side,  and  a 
pyramid,  urn  and  star  on  the  other.  The 
emblem  may  also  bear  the  date  of  the 
owner's  initiation  into  the  Order  and  an 
Arabic  motto,  "  Kuwat  wa  Ghadab  ;  "  or  in 
Latin,  "Eobur  et  Furor  ;"  and  in  English, 
"  Strength  and  Fury."  The  crescent  is 
usually  suspended  from  a  scimitar,  and 
holds  a  star  pendent  between  its  drooping 
horns.  The  crescent  has  been  a  religious 
emblem  in  all  ages  in  the  East,  and  in  some 
countries  is  a  political  ensign.  The  ancient 
Greeks  used  the  crescent  as  "an  emblem 
of  the  universal  Mother  of  all  living  things." 
The  Shrine  for  esoteric  reasons  employs 
the  crescent  with  its  horns  pointing  down- 
ward: "  The  setting  moon  of  the  old  faith  at 
the  moment  of  the  rising  sun  of  the  new 
faith  in  the  brotherhood  of  all  mankind." 
The  origin  of  the  universal  use  of  the  fez 
among  Moslems,  whence,  of  course,  Shrine 
members  get  it,  is  told  as  follows  : 

When  pilgrimages  to  Mecca  were  interrupted  by 
the  Crusades,  about  a.d.  980,  the  Mohammedans 
west  of  the  Nile  journeyed  to  Fez  (or  Fas),  in  Mo- 
rocco, as  to  a  holy  city.  Among  the  flourishing 
manufactures  of  the  city  was  a  head-covering  called 
tarboosh,  now  known  as  a  fez,  which  was  dyed  scar- 
let, for  the  students  in  a  great  school  at  that  city. 
In  that  way  it  became  a  mark  of  learning,  and 
gradually  displaced  other  forms  and  colors  of  hats. 
It  was  carried  in  all  directions  by  caravans,  and 
thus  became  the  distinguishing  head-dress  of  Mos- 
lems in  every  part  of  the  empire. 

During  the  past  eight  years  the  Order 


ANCIENT   ARABIC   ORDER   OF   NOBLES   OF   THE   MYSTIC   SHRINE 


in  the  United  States  lias  grown  at  the  rate 
of  fully  4,000  members  annually.  On 
January  1,  1899,  its  total  membership  was 
about  50,000,  distributed  among  seventy- 
nine  Temples  at  as  many  cities.*  Its  Christ- 
mas donations  to  the  poor  and  to  benevolent 
institutions     recently    amounted    to    over 

*  Temples  of  the  Mystic  Shrine. — Alabama  :  Bir- 
mingham, Zaraora  Temple,  First  Wednesday, 
March,  June,  September.  Arizona  :  Phoenix,  El 
Zaribah  Temple,  First  Monday,  November,  Decem- 
ber, January,  February,  March,  April.  Arkansas  : 
Pine  Bluff,  Saliara  Temple,  First  Wednesday.  Cal- 
ifornia :  Los  Angeles,  Al  jMaluikah  Temple,  Third 
Friday  ;  San  Francisco,  Islam  Temple,  Second 
Wednesday.  Colorado  :  Denver,  El  Jebel  Temple, 
March,  June,  September,  December.  Connecticut  : 
Bridgeport,  Pyramid  Temple,  Second  Wednesday, 
except  July  and  August  ;  Hartford.  Sphinx  Tem- 
ple, Second  Thursday.  District  of  Columbia  : 
Washington,  Almas  Temple,  Call  of  Potentate. 
Florida  :  Jacksonville,  Morocco  Temple,  First  Fri- 
day after  Third  Tuesday.  Georgia  :  Atlanta,  Yaa- 
rab  Temple,  Third  Wednesday  ;  Savannah,  Alee 
Temple.  Call  of  Potentate.  Idaho  :  Boise  City,  El 
Korah  Temple,  Second  Thursday.  Illinois:  Chi- 
cago, Medinali  Temple,  Monthly  ;  Peoria,  Mo- 
hammed Temple,  Second  Tuesday  :  Rockford,  Te- 
bala  Temple,  Fourth  Wednesday.  Indiana  :  Indi- 
anapolis, Murat  Temjjle,  Fourth  Friday.  Iowa  : 
Cedar  Rapids,  El  Kahir  Temple,  on  call  ;  Daven- 
port, Kaaba  Temple,  First  Tuesday.  Kansas  : 
Leavenworth,  Abdallah  Temple,  First  and  Third 
Friday  ;  Salina,  Isis  Temple,  Third  Tuesday.  Ken- 
tucky :  Louisville,  Kosair  Temple,  Second  Monday. 
Louisiana  :  New  Orleans,  Jerusalem  Temple,  Quar- 
terly. Maine  :  Lewiston,  Kora  Temple,  Fourth 
Thursday,  January,  i\Iay,  September,  Novembei', 
December.  Maryland  :  Baltimore,  Boumi  Temple, 
29th,  30th,  or  31st.  Massachusetts  :  Boston,  Aleppo 
Temple,  Call  of  Potentate ;  Springfield,  Melha 
Temple,  Fourth  Thursday,  except  July  and  Aug- 
ust. Michigan  :  Grand  Rapids,  Saladin  Temple, 
Call  of  Potentate ;  Detroit,  Moslem  Temple,  First 
Tuesday  ;  Marquette,  Alimed  Temple,  First 
Wednesday.  Minnesota  :  ^Minneapolis,  Zuhrah 
Temple,  Fourth  Friday  ;  St.  Paul,  Osman  Temple, 
May  2ith,  October  20th,  January  19th.  Missis- 
sippi :  Meridian,  Ilamasa  Temple,  Fourth  Thurs- 
day. Missouri  :  Kansas  City,  Ararat  Temple,  First 
Wednesday  ;  St.  Joseph,  Moila  Temple,  Fourth 
Wednesday ;  St.  Louis,  Moolah  Temple,  Third 
Wednesday.  Montana  :  Helena,  Algeria  Temple, 
Second  Tliursdav.     Nebraska  :   Lincoln,    Sesostris 


$26,000,  in  which  none  of  the  secret  relief 
extended  to  sick  or  distressed  Nobles  is  in- 
cluded. One  of  the  most  important  and 
characteristic  features  of  the  Order  is  found 
in  its  generous  donations  to  Freemasons  in 
need  of  assistance,  which  is  done  so  secretly 
that  the  world  never  hears  of  it,  and  few 

Temple,  Second  Saturday  ;  Omaha,  Tangier  Tem- 
ple, Fourth  Friday.  New  Mexico  :  Albuquerque, 
Ballut  Abyad  Temple,  Second  Monday.  New 
York  :  Albany,  Cyprus  Temple,  subject  to  call  ; 
Brooklyn,  Kismet  Temple,  on  call  ;  Buffalo,  Is- 
mailia  Temple,  29th  ;  New  York,  Mecca  Temple, 
Call  of  Potentate  ;  Rochester,  Damascus  Temple, 
four  times  a  year  ;  Troy,  Oriental  Temple,  Third 
Friday  ;  Utica,  Ziyara  Temple,  First  Wednesday  ; 
Watertown,  Media  Temple,  Second  Monday.  North 
Carolina  :  Charlotte,  Oasis  Temple,  no  stated  time. 
North  Dakota  :  Fargo,  El  Zagal  Temple,  every 
Thursday.  Ohio  :  Cincinnati,  Syrian  Temple,  Call 
of  Potentate  ;  Cleveland,  Al  Koran  Temple,  Pleas- 
ure of  Potentate  ;  Columbus,  Aladdin  Temple, 
Second  Thursday  ;  Dayton,  Antioch  Temple,  un- 
certain. Oklahoma  :  Oklahoma,  India  Temjile, 
Third  Thursday.  Oregon  :  Portland,  Al  Kader 
Temple,  Fourth  Wednesday.  Ontario,  Canada : 
Toronto,  Rameses  Temple,  August,  November, 
April.  Pennsylvania  :  Erie,  Zem  Zeni  Temple,  Call 
of  Potentate  ;  Philadelphia,  Lu  Lu  Temple,  First 
Wednesday ;  Pittsburg,  Syria  Temple,  Call  of  Po- 
tentate ;  Reading,  Rajah  Temple,  Fourth  Wednes- 
day, except  July  and  August  ;  Wilkesbarre,  Irem 
Temple,  Third  Wednesday.  Rhode  Island  :  Prov- 
idence, Palestine  Temple,  Fourth  jMonday,  Decem- 
ber, March,  June,  October.  South  Dakota  :  Dead- 
wood,  Nuja  Temple,  First  Saturday,  March,  June, 
Septendier  ;  Sioux  Falls,  El  Riad  Temple.  Third 
Wednesday.  Tennessee  :  Chattanooga,  Alliambra 
Temple,  Third  Friday  ;  Mempliis,  AlChymia  Tem- 
ple, December  and  March.  Texas  :  Austin,  Ben 
Ilur  Temple,  Friday  after  appearance  of  Crescent 
in  the  West  ;  Dallas,  Ilella  Temple,  Third  Thurs- 
day. Utah  :  Salt  Lake  City,  El  Kalah  Temple, 
Third  Wednesday.  Vermont  :  Montpelier,  Mount 
Sinai  Temple,  Second  Friday,  March,  June,  Sep- 
tember, December.  Virginia  :  Richmond,  Acca 
Temple,  Fourth  Thursday,  except  June,  July,  Au- 
gust. Washington  :  Spokane,  El  Katif  Temple, 
First  Wednesday  ;  Tacoma,  Afifi  Temple,  Third 
Wednesday.  West  Virginia  :  Charleston,  Bcni 
Kedem  Temple,  Second  Thursday  ;  Wheeling.  Osi- 
ris Temple,  Second  and  Fourth  Friday.  Wiscon- 
sin :  Milwaukee,Tripoli  Temple,  Second  Wednesday. 
Wyoming  :  Rawlins,  Korein  Temple,  Last  Friday. 


6 


ANCIENT   ARABIC    ORDER,    ETC.,    OF   NORTH   AND   SOUTH   AMERICA 


beyond  those  iu  immediate  interest  ever 
know  of  it.  Mohammedanism  is  not  advo- 
cated by  the  ritual  of  tlie  American  Order, 
but  the  same  respect  is  inculcated  for  Deity 
as  in  Arabia  and  elsewhere. 

Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles  of 
the  Mystic  Slirine  of  North  and  South 
America. — This  is  a  social  and  fraternal 
organization  of  negroes,  which  seeks  to 
jiarallel  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles 
of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  (See  the  latter.)  As 
the  A.  A.  0.  N.  M.  S.  admits  only  Freemasons 
who  are  Knights  Templars  or  have  received 
the  thirty-second  degree.  Ancient  and  Ac- 
cepted Scottish  Kite,  so  the  A.  A.  0.  N.  M.' 
S.  of  North  and  South  America  receives 
only  those  who  have  taken  the  higher  de- 
grees conferred  in  negro  Masonic  bodies. 
(See  Freemasonry  among  Negroes.)  The 
Grand  Council  of  the  A.  A.  0.  N.  M.  S. 
of  North  and  South  America  was  insti- 
tuted at  Chicago,  June  10,  1893,  by  John 
G.  Jones  and  others.  It  is  declared  that  Mr. 
Jones  is  the  first  negro  in  the  United  States 
to  receive  the  Shrine  degree,  and  that  it  was 
conferred  upon  him  by  '^^  several  members 
of  the  Grand  Council  of  Arabia"  who  were 
in  Chicago  ''in  attendance  at  the  World's 
Fair."  It  is  likely  that  Jones  and  associate 
negro  Nobles  received  their  Shrine  ritual 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  negro  Knights 
Templars  obtained  theirs.  In  1895  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Grand  Council  of  the  A.  A.  0.  N. 
M.  S.  of  North  and  South  America  Avas 
held  at  Chicago.  Its  officials  were  some 
of  the  more  active  negro  Freemasons  in 
the  United  States.  The  list  is  as  follows  : 
John  G.  Jones,  Chicago,  Avho  presided  ; 
Joseph  H.  Sbreve,  Chicago  ;  D.  W.  Demp- 
sey,  Chicago ;  Robert  II.  Ilucless,  New 
York  ;  J.  W.  Dunmore,  Chicago  ;  W.  W. 
Madden,  Baltimore  ;  W.  P.  Floyd,  Indian- 
apolis ;  D.  F.  Seville,  Washington,  D,  C. ; 
Thomas  W.  Logan,  Kansas  City,  Mo.  ;  B. 
M.  Shook,  Cleveland ;  Eev.  Dr.  J.  B.  Stans- 
berry.  New  York  ;  James  H.  Lewis,  New 
York ;  M.  L.  Hunter,  New  York  ;  J.  F. 
Scott,    Chatham,    Ont.  ;    E.   A.   Williams, 


New  Orleans  ;  S.  S.  Scott,  Pueblo,  Col.  ; 
Thomas  P.  Mahomet,  Omaha;  Joseph  S. 
Custis,  New  York;  J.  D.  Scott,  Fort  Worth, 
Tex.,  and  John  Coleman,  Water  Valley, 
Miss.  At  the  same  meeting  it  was  planned 
to  organize  a  women's  auxiliary,  to  be  known 
as  the  Daughters  of  the  Pyramid.  There 
were  twenty-three  Temples  represented  and 
more  were  to  be  instituted. 

Ancient  Order  of  Freesmiths  (Der 
Alte  Orden  der  Freischmiede). — According 
to  old  charters  which  are  alleged  to  be 
still  in  existence  in  the  Supreme  body 
in  Germany,  this  German  secret  so- 
ciety carries  its  organization  back  more 
years  than  almost  any  other  similar  body. 
The  extreme  secrecy  with  which  its  pro- 
ceedings and  traditions  are  surrounded 
renders  it  somewhat  difficult  to  obtain  de- 
tailed information  concerning  it.  Various 
23ublislied  accounts  profess  to  trace  its  ori- 
gin as  far  back  as  the  eighth  century,  to 
Westphalia,  which,  at  that  time,  included 
the  region  between  the  Elbe  and  the  Rhine, 
and  the  present  Republic  of  Switzerland. 
It  will  interest  Scottish  Rite  Freemasons, 
as  well  as  other  students  of  the  subject  of 
secret  societies  in  the  Middle  Ages,  to 
learn  that  this  brotherhood  is  said  to  have 
originated  in  the  Vehmic  Courts,  and  that 
the  claim  is  made  that  this  secret  organiza- 
tion, the  Freesmiths  of  to-day,  has  had  a 
continuous  existence  ever  since.  Whether 
it  lias  or  not,  it  presumes,  like  some 
other  and  better  known  secret  societies, 
to  supply  the  links  between  the  time  of 
the  Vehmgerichte  and  to-day.  The  Amer- 
ican branch  of  the  society  declares  that  the 
Vehmgerichte  flourished  from  the  reign  of 
Charlemagne,  mostly  iu  Germany,  where  it 
exercised  a  considerable  influence  between 
the  twelfth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  in  put- 
ting down  the  lawlessness  and  disregard 
for  authority  which  prevailed  there.  It 
constituted  courts  for  the  protection  of  the 
innocent  and  oppressed,  which  were  as 
easily  approached  by  the  humblest  as  high- 
est.   The  Vehmgerichte  became  an  immense 


ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  FREESMITHS 


power,  not  only  tlirougliout  Westphalia,  but 
elsewliere  in  Germany;  and  while,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  present  time,  it  was  a 
lawless  organization,  it  was,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  a  society,  of  the  most  law-abiding  of 
that  time,  designed  to  bring  to  justice  the 
evil-doer  of  whatever  rank  in  society,  and 
to  see  that  punishment  was  meted  out. 
The  Freesmiths,  while  claiming  direct  de- 
scent from  these  Vehmic  courts,  carry  their 
existence  far  enough  back  to  date  froin  the 
period  when  the  courts  were  used  for  the 
execution  of  justice,  ignoring  the  period 
when  they  became,  as  they  afterwards  did, 
in  the  hands  of  the  nobility,  instruments  for 
unworthy  purposes.  One  of  the  latest  of 
the  Vehmic  courts  was  that  held  at  Celle, 
in  Hanover,  in  1568,  although  it  has  been 
heard  of  at  later  dates.  It  is  related  that 
Jerome  Bonaparte  in  1811  abolished  one  of 
the  later  forms  of  the  Vehmgerichte  in  Aus- 
tria, at  which  time  it  was  known  as  Der 
Alte  Orden  der  Freischmiede.  But  the 
Order  was  in  existence  in  other  portions  of 
Germany  at  the  time,  where  it  is  still  con- 
tinued, and  had  a  large  membershiji.  A 
candidate  for  initiation  into  the  Order  was 
required  to  be  a  Christian,  never  to  have 
been  excommunicated  or  outlawed,  and  not 
a  party  to  any  trial  before  the  Vehme.  He 
was  required  to  take  a  solemn  oath  to  sup- 
port the  Holy  Vehm,  to  conceal  its  pro- 
ceedings ''from  wife  and  child,  father  and 
mother,  sister  and  brother,  fire  and  wind, 
from  all  that  the  sun  shines  on  and  the 
rain  wets,  and  from  every  being  between 
heaven  and  earth,  and  to  bring  before  the 
tribunal  everything  within  his  knowledge 
that  fell  under  its  jurisdiction."  He  was 
then  invested  with  the  signs  by  which  the 
members  recognized  each  other,  and  pre- 
sented Avith  a  rope  and  a  knife,  upon  the 
latter  of  which  were  the  letters  S.  S.  G.  G., 
supposed  to  mean  Strick,  Stein,  Gras,  Grein, 
or  Rope,  Stone,  Grass,  Grain.  One  variety 
of  Vehmic  court  held  its  meetings  openly, 
while  the  proceedings  of  the  other  were 
secret.     The    former   took   jurisdiction   in 


civil  suits  and  otiiers  of  trivial  cliaracter, 
while  the  latter  took  charge  of  crimes  of 
more  serious  nature.  The  accused  in  the 
procedure  of  these  courts  was  cited  by  hav- 
ing the  summons  nailed  over  his  door  at 
night,  or,  if  it  was  not  known  where  he 
lived,  by  fastening  four  copies  at  a  cross- 
road near  his  sujjposed  residence.  Xone 
but  the  initiated  was  admitted  during  the 
sessions  of  the  secret  court,  and  any  one 
found  present  who  was  not  a  mem])er  was 
init  to  instant  death.  The  only  punish- 
ment inflicted  by  the  secret  court  was 
death  ;  and  in  case  the  convicted  accused 
was  not  present,  the  first  of  tlie  initiated  to 
meet  him  was  bound  to  put  him  to  death 
and  leave  the  knife  with  the  cabalistic  let- 
ters beside  the  body,  to  show  the  deed  was 
not  a  murder.  With  the  revival  of  law 
and  order  and  legal  procedure,  Der  Alte 
Orden  der  Freischmiede  is  declared  to  have 
taken  the  place  of  the  Vehmgerichte,  with 
some  of  the  more  deadly  characteristics  of 
the  latter  left  out,  and  some  of  the  benevo- 
lent features  of  more  modern  secret  socie- 
ties incorporated. 

The  first  Lodge  of  the  Freischmiede  in 
the  United  States  was  organized  in  Bal- 
timore in  1865,  and  a  second  one  was 
formed  in  Washington  iu  1866.  After 
the  organization  of  the  third  Lodge  in 
this  country,  which  was  in  Philadelphia  in 
1867,  the  Order  took  on  a  rapid  growth. 
There  are  thousands  of  members  of  the  so- 
ciety in  this  "country  to-day,  but  compara- 
tively little  is  kno\Vn  about  the  institution, 
and  members  thereof  appear  chary  about 
giving  information.  It  apparently  avoids 
publicity,  not  only  regarding  its  affairs,  but 
regarding  its  membership  and  location. 
Lodges  are  believed  to  be  established  in  al- 
most every  State  in  the  Union,  which  are 
governed  by  State  or  Grand  Lodges,  and  the 
latter  are  controlled  by  the  Supi'eme  Lodge 
of  the  United  States,  which  is  said  to  meet 
regularly  "on  the  first  hour  of  every  leap 
year."  The  Lodge  rooms  are  called  Smith- 
ies,    and    represent     the     firmament,    the 


8 


ANCIENT   ORDER    OF   OSIRIS 


presiding  officer  being  the  Sun,  the  second  in 
command  tlie  Moon,  and  the  third,  etc.,  re^)- 
resenting  other  phmets  or  lieavenly  bodies. 
The  ritual  of  the  Order  has  no  religions 
characteristics,  a  recognition  of  a  higher 
power  being  the  only  requisite  from  those 
seeking  admission.  The  objects  of  the 
society  are  intellectual  development,  the 
extension  of  wisdom  and  toleration,  sick 
benefits  and  life  insurance.  The  lower  body 
in  the  organization  is  entitled  the  Free  Mas- 
ters and  contains  six  degrees.  The  regalia 
is  composed  of  a  red  sash  with  three  stars. 
After  an  honorable  career  in  the  Order  for 
a  year,  the  degree  of  Grand  Marshal  is 
conferred,  with  a  black  sash  and  seven 
stars.  After  that  comes  the  Grand  Master 
degree,  with  the  blue  sash  and  seven  stars, 
when  the  member  is  entitled  to  wear  his 
sword.  The  highest  degree  bestowed  is  en- 
titled Cavalier,  and  is  conferred  after  three 
years  and  an  examination  in  astronomy  and 
the  sciences.  Only  a  Cavalier  may  become 
President  of  a  Supreme  Lodge,  the  emblem 
of  which  degree  is  the  Cross  of  the  Knights, 
a  sasii  of  red,  black,  and  blue  with  all  the 
stars,  and  a  sword  and  a  dagger.  These 
officials  exercise  somewhat  the  same  pre- 
rogatives as  Sovereign  Grand  luspectors 
General  of  the  thirty-third  and  last  degree 
of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of 
Freemasonry,  having  access  to  all  the  bodies 
and  their  archives,  and  being  entitled  to 
special  honors  at  all  visits.  Like  so  many 
younger  secret  societies,  this  one  possesses 
a  motto  in  three  words — Truth,  Fidelity, 
and  Secrecy  (Wahrheit,  Treue,  unde 
Schwiegen).  The  obligations  of  the  Order 
recpiire  every  member  to  assist  unfortunate 
or  distressed  brethren.  Lodges  pay  five 
dollars  weekly  in  case  of  sickness  of  mem- 
bers, 1125  in  case  of  the  death  of  a  member's 
wife,  and  1500  to  the  heirs  of  a  member  in 
case  of  his  death,  A  recently  published  list 
of  officials  of  the  Supreme  Lodge  of  the 
United  States  included  the  followins: : 
Grand  Honorary  President,  William 
Schlumpf  of  New  York  ;  Grand  Marshal, 


William  Drexler  of  Paterson,  N.  J. ;  Grand 
Counsellor,  Jacob  Himmelsbach  of  New 
York  ;  Grand  Secretary,  William  Mertz  of 
Paterson,  N.  J. ;  and  Grand  Treasurer, 
Emil  Baumgarten  of  Paterson,  N.  J. 

It  is  only  fair  to  state  that  there  are  no 
reasons  for  believing  that  the  Ancient  Order 
of  Freesmiths  have  had  any  more  direct 
connection  with  the  Yehmgerichte  of  the 
Middle  Ages  than  have  any  of  the  haute 
grades  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scot- 
tish Rite  of  Freemasonry,  and  there  are 
several  external  evidences  that  the  found- 
ers of  the  Freesmiths  have  patterned  after 
some  of  the  emblems  and  ceremonials  of  the 
Bite  Ecossais.  There  are,  however,  rea- 
sons for  crediting  the  inspiration  of  the  Free- 
smiths  to  some  of  the  earlier  workingmen's 
guilds  in  Germany. 

Ancient  Order  of  Osiris. — In  the  his- 
tory, objects,  and  aims  of  this  modern 
American  Order,  published  in  1887,  no 
mention  is  made  of  its  headquarters.  It  is 
governed  by  a  Supreme  Tribunal,  and  deals 
in  Lesser  and  Greater  Mysteries,  all  of 
which  are  declared  to  have  been  instituted 
in  virtue,  with  the  noblest  objects  in  view. 
Its  watchwords  are  Truth,  Justice,  and 
Equity,  and  it  seeks  to  clothe  the  naked, 
feed  the  hungry,  educate  the  orphan,  and 
'*to  know  each  other  and  ourselves." 

Anti-Masonry. —  Organized  opposition 
to  Freemasonry  has  shown  itself  in  three 
forms  since  the  revival  in  1717,  when  the 
four  London  Lodges  united  to  form  a  Grand 
Lodge.  The  first  came  and  still  emanates 
from  the  Roman  Catholic  Church ;  the 
second,  from  one  or  more  offshoots  of  the 
Scotch  Presbyterian  Church ;  and  the  third 
was  conspicuous  in  the  United  States  for 
a  decade  after  the  disappearance  of  William 
Morgan  of  Batavia,  N,  Y.,  who,  it  was  said, 
was  about  to  disclose  the  secrets  of  the  Fra- 
ternity. Almost  all  political  antagonism  to 
Freemasonry  in  Europe  may  be  traced  to  the 
influence  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
During  the  seven  years  from  1717  to  1724 
the    Fraternity  attracted   the  attention  of 


ANTI-MASONRY 


many  Englislimen  of  learning  cand  title, 
when,  on  September  3,  1724,  the  London 
''  Daily  Post"  announced  tiie  appearance  in 
that  city  of  a  secret  society  described  as  tlie 
Ancient  and  Noble,  or,  the  August  and 
Noble  Order  of  Gonnogons.  It  was  declared 
to  be  of  Chinese  origin,  founded  "  thousands 
of  years"  prior  to  Adam,  and  the  printed 
account  set  forth  that  a  Chapter  would  be 
held  at  Castle  Tavern,  Fleet  Street,  where 
"  no  Mason  "  would  be  received  as  a  member 
"■  till  he  had  renounced  "  his  "  novel  Order  " 
and  been  '^  properly  degraded."  Six  weeks 
later  the  same  paper  stated  that  ''many 
eminent  Freemasons"  had  "degraded" 
themselves  (renounced  their  Fraternity  and 
burned  their  gloves  and  aprons)  and  joined 
the  Gormogons. 

Several  theories  have  been  advanced  to 
account  for  the  existence  of  the  Gormogons, 
The  first,  that  it  was  a  creation  of  the  Cheva- 
lier Ramsey,  an  ardent  Freemason  and  a 
Roman  Catholic,  and  another,  that  it  was 
the  beginning  of  what  took  shape  as  the 
schismatic  branch  of  English  Freemasonry 
about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  are 
both  regarded  as  unworthy  of  consideration. 
The  third  theory,  that  it  was  a  "  Jesuitic," 
that  is,  Roman  Catholic,  invention,  designed 
to  offset  the  growing  j^opularity  of  Freema- 
sonry,was,  and  still  is,  believed  to  be  the  true 
explanation,  particularly  as  the  Society  of 
Gormogons  disappeared  in  1738,  the  year  in 
which  Pope  Clement  XII.  issued  his  famous 
bull  against  Freemasonry.  It  was  on  April 
28, 1738,  that  Pope  Clement  XIT.  published 
his  bull,  entitled  In  Eminent i  Apostolatus 
Specula,  containing  the  following  words  : 

For  which  reason  the  temporal  and  spiritual 
coininnnities  are  enjoined,  in  the  name  of  holy 
obedience,  neither  to  enter  the  society  of  Free- 
masons, to  disseminate  its  principles,  to  defend  it, 
nor  to  admit  nor  conceal  it  within  their  houses  or 
palaces  or  elsewhere,  under  pain  of  excommunica- 
tion ipso  facto  for  all  acting  in  contradiction  of  this, 
and  from  which  only  the  Pope  can  absolve  the  dying. 

On  January  14, 1739,  a  still  more  stringent 
edict  was  issued  for  the  Papal  States,  death 


and  confiscation  of  property,  without  hope 
of  mercy,  being  the  penalty.  De  Cormenin, 
in  his  "  History  of  the  Popes,"  refers  to  the 
''l^leiad  of  philosophers"  which  had  ranged 
itself  around  Voltaire,  ''battling  in  the 
breach  against  the  civil  and  religious  au- 
thority of  popes,  bishops  and  priests,"  Mon- 
tesquieu, Rousseau,  Diderot,  d'Alembert, 
and  others  compelling  "  tlie  third  estate, 
the  nobility,  and  even  a  great  part  of  the 
French  clergy  to  march  in  their  progressive 
route  to  the  conquest  of  a  new  order  of 
things."  The  political  movement,  he  de- 
clared, "though  less  apparent  than  the  re- 
ligious, was  not  the  less  real.  Secret  associ- 
ations were  everywhere  organized  to  labor 
for  the  overthrow  of  kings  and  priests,"  and 
"  Rome  was  so  moved  "  by  this  revolution- 
ary tendency  that  "  Clement  XII.  declared 
war  on  secret  societies  and  fulminated  a 
terrible  bull  against  the  Freemasons  who 
had  established  Lodges  in  England,  Scot- 
land, France,  Germany,  and  Italy." 
These  statements  indicate  that  Clement 
was  unable  to  distinguisli  between  a  secret, 
pacific,  non-political,  benevolent  brother- 
hood and  secret  political  associations.  De 
Cormenin  relates  that  Pope  Clement's  bull 
against  Freemasonry  prohibited  "his  sub- 
jects" from  affiliating  with  or  being  present 
at  Masonic  assemblies,  from  inducing  any- 
one to  join  the  Fraternity,  and  from  "ren- 
dering aid,  succor,  counsel,  or  a  retreat"  to 
a  Freemason  "under  penalty  of  death;" 
which,  in  part,  refers,  probably,  to  the  sup- 
plementary bull  of  1739,  applying  to  the 
Papal  States.  "  These  proscriptions,"  De 
Cormenin  says,  gave  Freemasonry  an  "ex- 
traordinary lustre,  and  Europe  was  soon 
covered  by  a  prodigious  Jiumber  of  Lodges." 
The  reasons  for  issuing  this,  the  first  of 
a  long  list  of  bulls  against  Freemasonry, 
are  thus  set  forth  in  the  document  itself  : 

We  have  learned,  and  public  rumor  docs  not  per- 
mit us  to  doubt  the  truth  of  the  report,  that  a  cer- 
tain society  has  been  formed  under  the  name  of 
Freemasons  into  whicli  persons  of  all  religions  and 
all  sects  are  indiscriminately  admitted,   and  whose 


10 


ANTI-MASONRY 


members  have  established  certain  laws  which  bind 
themselves  to  each  other,  and  which,  in  particu- 
lar, compel  their  members,  under  the  severest 
penalties,  by  virtue  of  an  oath  taken  on  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  to  preserve  an  inviolable  secrecy  in  re- 
lation to  everything  tliat  passes  in  their  meetings. 

The  bull  further  declares  tliat  these  soci- 
eties had  become  siispected  of  being  hurtful 
to  the  tranquility  of  the  state  and  to  the 
safety  of  the  soul ;  that  if  the  actions  of 
Freemasons  were  irreproachable  they  would 
not  so  carefully  conceal  them  from  the 
light;  and  all  bishops,  superiors,  and  ordina- 
ries were  enjoined  to  punish  the  Freemasons 
"  with  the  penalties  which  they  deserve,  as 
people  greatly  suspected  of  heresy,  having 
recourse,  if  necessar}^,  to  the  secular  arm." 
Three  years  before  this,  in  Amsterdam 
(1735),  a  Masonic  Lodge  room  was  forcibly 
entered  and  its  furniture  destroyed  by  "a 
crowd  of  fanatics'''  whose  zeal  had  been 
kindled  by  "  some  of  the  clergy."  Although 
Clement's  bull  did  not  meet  Avith  a  favor- 
able reception  in  France,  in  Italy  many  sus- 
pected of  being  Freemasons  were  arrested 
and  i^laced  in  dungeons,  as  well  as  some  ac- 
cused of  having  furnished  an  asylum  to 
Masonic  Lodges.  Like  measures  to  crush 
the  Fraternity  were  resorted  to  in  Spain  and 
in  Portugal,  and  in  1745  Masonic  assemblies 
were  prohibited  throughout  Switzerland 
under  the  severest  penalties.  In  1748  a 
Masonic  Lodge  at  Constantinople  was  de- 
molished and  its  members  were  arrested, 
but  ultimately  discharged  through  the  in- 
terposition of  the  British  Minister.  In 
Scotland,  in  1757,  the  Synod  of  Stirling  de- 
barred all  adhering  Freemasons  from  the 
ordinances  of  religion,  whence,  possibly,  may 
be  found  the  origin  of  some  of  the  opposition 
to  the  Fraternity  in  one  or  more  branches 
of  the  Scotch  Church.  The  Papal  bull  of 
1738  was  confirmed  and  renewed  by  Bene- 
dict XIV.  in  1751,  and  by  Pius  VII.  in  1821. 
Leo  XII.,  in  his  Apostolic  Edict,  Quo  Gra- 
viora,  1826,  included  the  acts  and  decrees 
of  the  earlier  popes  on  this  subject,  and 
ordered    them  to  be    ratified  forever.      As 


noted  by  Gould,  in  his  ''History  of  Free- 
masonry," Pius  VII.  spoke  to  the  same  effect 
in  1829,  Gregory  XVI.  in  1832,  and  Pius  IX. 
in  1846, 1864,  and  at  other  dates.  Leo  XIII. 
again  confirmed  these  decrees  of  his  prede- 
cessors in  1884,  and  extended  the  o^iposition 
of  the  Eoman  Church  to  the  Odd  Fellows, 
the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Sons  of 
Temperance.  About  ten  years  ago  the 
Cardinal  at  Quebec  took  steps  to  prevent 
Eoman  Catholics  in  his  jurisdiction  from 
joining  the  Knights  of  Labor,  a  secret  labor 
and  socialist  society,  founded  by  a  Free- 
mason, which  has  some  of  the  outward  forms 
and  c^iaracteristics  of  Freemasonry.  But  so 
much  opposition  was  excited  that,  on  an  ap- 
peal to  Eorae,  the  action  was  not  sustained. 
A  reply  to  an  inquiry  directed  to  Cardinal 
Gibbons  states  that  the  Fenian  Brotherhood 
and  its  successor,  the  Clan-na-gael,  are  not 
approved  by  the  Church,  in  reference  to 
which  no  explanation  is  necessary.  On 
January  6,  1895,  the  Eoman  Catholic  Arch- 
bishop of  Cincinnati,  on  the  authority  of  the 
Holy  See,  announced  the  position  of  that 
Church  with  respect  to  the  Odd  Fellows, 
the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Sons  of  Tem- 
perance, and,  incidentally,  Freemasonry,  in 
part  as  follows  : 

All  the  ordinaries  of  the  various  dioceses  of  the 
United  States  must  use  their  exertions  to  keep  the 
faithful  away  from  all  and  each  of  the  three  socie- 
ties called  the  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
and  the  Sons  of  Temperance.  And  the  faithful 
themselves  must  be  admonished  of  this  ;  and  if, 
after  the  admonition,  they  still  adhere  to  these  so- 
cieties, and  will  not  leave  them  effectually,  they 
must  not  be  admitted  to  the  Sacraments.  .  .  . 
First,  these  societies  seem  to  have  a  decided  in- 
fluence to  lead  Catholics  toward  Freemasonry,  and 
Freemasonry  is  under  the  absolute  condemnation 
and  excommunication  of  the  Church.  I  will  not 
stop  to  consider  the  reasons  for  this,  except  to  draw 
your  attention  to  the  declared  and  implacable  hatred 
of  Masons  against  the  Church  and  against  all  reli- 
gious interests.  This  is  openly  and  angrily  avowed 
by  the  leading  Masons  of  Eui'ope,  and  manifested 
by  their  satanic  warfare  against  everything  Chris- 
tian, particularly  in  Italy  and  France.  In  our 
country  this  spirit  does  not  seem  to  prevail  ;  yet 
there   has  been   no  action  by  the  Masons  of  this 


ANTI-MASONRY 


11 


country  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  Church  that  they 
are  secured  agjiinst  the  infusion  of  the  spirit  of  their 
brethren.  .  .  .  Now,  it  is  often  seen  that  the 
active  promoters  of  these  societies,  now  condemned, 
are  also  zealous  Masons;  and  if  a  Calliolic  is 
drawn  into  one  of  them,  he  is  in  continual  and 
familiar  association  with  the  admirers  of  Masonry, 
and  imuiediatcly  exposed  to  imbibe  their  senti- 
ments, consciously  or  unconsciously.  Again,  more 
positively  and  more  strongly  do  these  societies  tend 
to  weaken  a  Catholic's  regard  for  the  doctrines  of 
the  Church  and  for  her  Sacraments  and  other 
administrations.  .  .  .  They  do  not,  I  believe, 
expressly  antagonize  the  Church's  teachings  and 
practices  ;  and  Catholics  who  are  in  them  may 
probably  say  very  honestly  that  they  have  not  seen 
or  heard  anything  opposed  to  the  Church.  But 
these  societies  do  profess  to  inculcate  morality  with- 
out the  help  of  the  Church.  They  intentionally  or 
unintentionally  dispose  a  man  to  believe  that  if  he 
practises  the  natural  virtues — of  honesty,  truthful- 
ness, sobriety,  philanthropy,  etc. — then  he  is  all 
that  a  man  ought  to  be  ;  and  also  to  believe  that 
he  can  practise  these  virtues  quite  sufficiently  by 
the  force  of  his  own  will  ;  that  he  does  not  need 
the  special  helps  which  our  Lord  furnishes  through 
His  Church.  This  is  called  natin-al  religion  ;  that 
is,  such  knowledge  of  God  and  such  practice  of  a 
good  life  as  a  man  can  reach  by  his  own  natural 
reason  and  strength.  It  leaves  out  revealed  re- 
ligion ;  that  is,  the  other  truths  which  God  has 
revealed  to  man  through  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  Ilis  Apostles. 
It  leaves  out  the  necessity  of  grace,  our  redemp- 
tion from  sin  through  the  life  and  death  of  the 
Son  of  God  nuide  man.  It  leaves  out  the  means 
of  grace  given  us  by  God  in  His  Sacraments,  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  of  tlie  Mass,  and  the  other  ministra- 
tions of  the  Church.  In  a  word,  it  leaves  out  the 
supernatural  end  of  man  and  the  supernatural 
means  given  him  to  reach  that  end.  Of  course, 
the  natural  tendency  of  such  an  association  is  to 
dispose  men  to  think  less  earnestly  about  Christian- 
ity. And  it  has,  too,  been  observed,  that  Catholics 
frequenting  these  societies  gradually  cool  in  their 
love  for  the  Church,  becoming  indifferent  to  her 
doctrines  and  careless  of  observing  her  precepts. 
Some  may  resist  this  tendency,  but  too  many  yield 
to  it.  And  the  very  fact  of  tlieir  seeing  nothing  in 
the  Lodge  to  disturb  their  religion  makes  them  all 
the  more  liable  to  drift  down  unconsciously.    .    .    . 

Keferring  to  tlie  nature  of  the  alleged 
obligation  of  one  of  the  condemned  socie- 
ties, the  Archbishop  continued  : 

This    oath    and    these    penalties    apply    to    all 


"mysteries  which  he  may  hereafter  be  instructed 
in."  lie  has  no  guarantee  as  to  the  character  of 
these  mysteries.  Tiiey  may  Ix;  blusphemies  against 
God,  or  treason  against  his  country,  or  injustice 
against  his  neighbor.  Of  course,  he  hopes  it  will 
not  be  so,  and  the  members  nuiy  say  it  will  not  be. 
But  how  can  a  man  conscientiously  put  himself 
under  such  an  oath  and  such  penalties,  with  no 
other  protection  but  their  saying  ?  His  oath  is  on 
record.  Their  saying  is  a  passing  word.  .  .  . 
Such  obligations  of  bliiul  obedience  are  contrary  to 
the  natural  conscience  of  man. 

The  formation  of  a  Post  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Kepublic  at  Xotre  Dame,  In- 
diana, in  July,  189T,  tlie  membership  of 
which  "was  composed  wholly  of  Iloman 
Catholic  priests,"  shows  striking  contrasts 
in  the  views  of  that  Church  concerning 
various  secret  societies.  Archbishop  Ryan, 
in  replying  to  a  vote  of  thanks  from  a 
Philadelphia  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
l^ublic,  in  1896,  was  quoted  in  the  daily 
papers  in  jiart  as  follows  : 

I  do  not  believe  there  was  ever  any  general  con- 
demnation of  your  Order  by  the  Church,  although 
individual  bishops  may  have  misinterpreted  your 
constitution.  It  has  no  objectionable  features  that 
I  can  see,  and  is  universally  acknowledged  by  the 
Churcli  at  large  in  the  country  to-day.  Your  Order 
is  founded  on  charitable  and  fraternal  fellowship 
and  patriotism.  Patriotism  is  from  God,  and  the 
Catholic  Church  should,  therefore,  be  the  first  to 
nurture  it. 

One  significance  of  this  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  Grand  Army  was  organized  b}'  Odd 
Fellows  and  Freemasons  and  is  largely  made 
up  of  them  ;  like  them,  it  is  '*  founded  on 
charitable  and  fraternal  fellowship  and  pa- 
triotism,''and  is  secret,  has  grips,  passwords, 
obligations,  and  an  initiatory  ceremony. 
The  refusal  of  the  Church  of  Rome  to  con- 
demn the  Knights  of  Labor  and  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  is,  therefore,  an  ap- 
parent triumph  of  diplomacy.  A  Roman 
Catholic  Anti-Masonic  International  Con- 
gress was  held  at  Trient,  Austria,  in 
September,  1896,  ''to  make  known  to 
everybody  the  immense  moral  and  material 
evil  done  by  Freemasonry  to  the  Church 
and  to  society,  and  to  seek  remedy  by  way 


12 


ANTI-MASONRY 


of  a  permanent,  international  organiza- 
tion against  the  Craft."  In  a  published 
letter  to  the  clergy  approving  tliat  meeting, 
the  coadjutor  to  Cardinal  Taschereau  at 
Quebec  denounced  Freemasonry  as  an  ''in- 
fernal sect "  and  a  "  diabolical  organiza- 
tion." The  London  "Times"  said  of  the 
Congress  that  about  eight  hundred  persons 
attended  it,  of  whom  six  hundred  were 
clergymen  ;  and  that,  Avhile  the  speeches 
were  moderate,  Freemasonry  was  "attacked 
as  being  opposed  to  the  divine  law  and  the 
Cliurcli."  Whatever  objection  the  Churcli 
of  Rome  may  have  to  Freemasonry  in 
France  or  elsewhere  on  the  Continent,  where 
the  Bible  has  been  removed  from  Masonic 
altars,  or  where  Freemasons  have  been  ac- 
cused of  conspiring  against  the  Pope,  it  is 
evident  that  Pope  Clement's  bull  against 
Freemasonry  in  1738  (renewed  and  con- 
firmed by  all  his  successors)  is  feebly  en- 
forced to-day,  Tlie  consequences  of  an  at- 
tempt in  tlie  United  States  and  the  United 
Kingdom  to  have  it  carried  out  literally 
would  suggest  a  problem  in  which  a  resist- 
ible body  meets  an  immovable  body. 

The  Pennsylvania  Christian  Reform  Con- 
vention, o])posed  to  secret  societies,  held  at 
the  First  United  Presbyterian  Cliurch, 
Philadelphia,  February,  1894,  declared  Free- 
masonry, so-called,  the  Society  6i  Jesuits, 
and  all  societies  which  impose  an  oath  on 
members  to  obey  unknown  laws,  unscrip- 
tural,  un-Christian  and  un-American,  and 
membership  in  them  degrading,  and  im- 
plored the  State  and  Nation  to  declare 
members  of  all  such  societies  outlaws. 

At  a  session  of  the  Synod  of  the  Re- 
formed Presbyterian  Church,  in  Phila- 
delphia, in  June,  1894,  a  report  was  adopted 
condemning  secret  societies  as  being  "or- 
ganized on  the  principle  of  secrecy  and  for 
the  purpose  of  concealment  without  previ- 
ous knowledge  of  the  things  to  be  con- 
cealed.    .     .     ." 

Such  a  society  is  contrai'y  to  the  spirit  and  letter  of 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  grip,  the  pass- 
word, the  darkened  window,  the  guarded  door  are  not 


Christlike  ;  and  the  Christian,  especially  the  minister 
of  Christ,  is  out  of  place  in  such  surroundings.* 
Organized  secrecy  invites  suspicion.  Organized  se- 
crecy is  a  menace  to  society.  It  naturally  leads  to 
ends  and  means  and  invites  persons  that  need  con- 
cealment. Whoever  calls  any  man  "  Grand  Master  " 
makes  himself  a  grand  slave.  Secret  orders  not 
only  lord  it  over  their  own  members,  but  undertake 
to  dictate  on  terms  of  death  the  conduct  of  those 
outside  their  organization.  Let  everyone  who  enters 
a  secret  society  know  that  he  parts  with  his  liberty, 
puts  his  neck  under  a  yoke,  and  fetters  his  feet.  He 
virtually  says  :  "  I  am  your  beast,  drive  me  ;  I  am 
your  slave,  command  me  ;  I  yield  my  own  will  and 
judgment  to  others." 

Organized  opposition  to  Freemasonry 
among  Protestant  religious  bodies  has  not 
been  of  sufficient  importance  to  attract 
public  attention  during  the  past  fifty  years, 
being  largely  confined  to  a  few  of  the  minor, 
schismatic  sects.  When  delegates  from 
several  of  these  bodies  meet  to  fulminate 
against  the  Craft,  they  sometimes  call  them- 
selves a  "Christian  Association,  Interde- 
nominational, Anti-Secret  Convention." 
Such  a  gathering  was  held  at  Minneaj)olis, 
November,  1895,  and  resolved  : 

That,  in  our  opinion,  secret  societies  are  con- 
demned by  the  example  and  the  word  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
that  such  societies  must  injure  men  who  compose 
them,  uniting  in  fraternal  fellowship  believers  and 
non-believers,  and  thus  tending  to  separate  them 
from  the  Saviour  of  men  ;  that  such  orders  are  hos- 
tile to  the  home  life,  depriving  wife  and  children  of 
the  companionship  and  help  of  husband  and  father, 
and  tending  to  destroy  the  confidence  and  sympathy 
which  should  be  the  foundation  of  home  life  ;  that 
the  churches  of  Jesus  Christ  are  the  God-aiDjJointed 
agency  for  the  redemption  of  the  world,  and  that 
secret  societies  tend  to  destroy  them  by  rivalry  and 
substitution  ;  and  that  the  Lodge  oaths  are  incon- 
sistent with  good  citizenship,  and  that  good  citizens 
should  withstand  and  oppose  them. 

Though  political  persecution  of  Free- 
masons and  opposition  to  Freemasonry  in 

*  In  1891  the  total  number  of  ordained  ministers 
in  the  State  of  New  York  who  were  affiliated  Free- 
masons was  as  follows  :  Methodist,  288  ;  Episcopal, 
146  ;  Baptist,  112  ;  Presbyterian,  59  ;  LTniversalist, 
31  ;  Congregational,  21  ;  Dutch  Reformed,  13  ; 
Christian,  13  ;  Lutheran,  11  ;  Jew,  7;  Unitarian, 
1  ;  Reformed  Jew,  1  ;  total,  703. 


ANTI-MASONRY 


13 


Europe,  South  America,  and  elsewhere 
abroad  have  generally  been  due  to  Roman 
Catholic  influence,  there  is  an  exception  in 
the  prohibition  of  meetings  of  the  society 
in  Russia. 

In  the  United  States  an  Anti-Masonic 
political  party  made  its  appearance  in 
1827,  and  was  active  in  some  or  all  of 
the  Middle  and  New  England  States 
for  the  next  ten  years.  It  was  the  out- 
growth of  what  was  known  as  the  "  Morgan 
iiffair."  William  ]\[orgau  of  Batavia, 
Oenesee  County,  N.  Y.,  who  claimed  to  be 
but  is  not  known  to  have  been,  a  Free- 
mason, had  a  book  in  press  which  was  said 
to  reveal  the  secrets  of  the  Masonic  Fra- 
ternity. He  was  arrested  on  September 
11,  182G,  on  a  charge  of  petit  larceny,  and 
put  in  Jail  at  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.  The 
story  goes  that  he  was  released  on  the 
night  of  September  r2tli  on  the  jaayment  of 
the  amount  of  the  execution  to  the  jailer's 
wife, the  jailer  being  absent,  and,  guarded  by 
several  men,  was  taken  in  a  closed  carriage 
to  Fort  Niagara,  on  Niagara  River,  where  all 
trace  of  him  was  lost,  so  far  as  liis  relatives 
and  the  public  were  concerned.  More  than 
a  year  afterwards,  in  October,  1827,  a  much 
decomposed  body  of  anuxn  was  found  on  the 
sliore  of  Lake  Ontario,  not  far  from  the 
mouth  of  Niagara  River.  Morgan's  wife, 
Thurlow  AVeed,  and  others  wlio  knew  Mor- 
gan, declared  that  the  body  was  Morgan's, 
notwithstanding  the  family  of  Timothy 
Munroe,  a  Canadian  fisherman  who  was 
drowned  a  few  months  before,  were  posi- 
tive that  the  body  was  Munroe's.  Thurlow 
Weed,  it  will  be  recalled,  first  rose  into 
political  prominence  through  his  connec- 
tion with  the  Morgan  affair.  Both  he 
and  William  H.  Seward,  members  of  the 
National  Republican  party,  were  keenly 
alive  to  the  opportunity  to  ride  into  power 
through  a  political  party  to  be  created  out 
of  the  storm  to  which  Morgan's  disajipear- 
ance  gave  rise.  The  Masonic  Fraternity 
suffered  severely  from  the  outcry  against  it, 
and  so  fierce  was  the  sentiment  on   both 


sides  that  in  New  York,  New  England, 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  Miciiigan  political 
parties,  church  congregations,  families, 
and  friends  were  divided  on  the  issue.  The 
Masonic  Fraternity  repudiated  the  acts  of 
individual  Freemasons  accused  of  Mor- 
gan's abduction,  and  cooperated  with  the 
authorities  in  an  effort  to  bring  the  guilty 
ones  to  justice  ;  but  a  whirlwind  of  public 
condemnation  was  aimed  at  the  Craft  in 
general,  and  would  not  be  stayed.  Tiie  re- 
sult was,  that  during  the  next  few  years 
hundreds  of  Masonic  Lodge  warrants  were 
surrendered.  The  insistence  by  Weed  and 
others  that  the  body  found  in  October, 
1827,  was  that  of  Morgan  (supposed  to 
have  been  drowned  in  September,  1826), 
helped  to  fan  the  political  flame  which  re- 
sulted in  the  formation  of  the  Anti-Masonic 
party,  in  which  Weed,  Seward,  and  their 
friends  were  leaders.  When  Weed  was 
confronted  with  the  inconsistency  of  his 
claim  that  the  body  was  Morgan's,  he  is 
credibly  reported  to  have  replied  :  "  It's  a 
good  enough  Morgan  until  after  election," 
which  has  become  a  stock  political  phrase 
to  tills  day.  Morgan  was  never  seen,  dead 
or  alive,  after  his  abductors  left  him.  In 
Weed's  autobiography  he  says  that  John 
Whitney,  one  of  Morgan's  abductors,  con- 
fessed to  him  at  Albany,  in  1831,  that 
Morgan  was  carried  to  Fort  Niagara  with  the 
understanding  that  Canadian  Freemasons 
would  furnish  him  a  retreat  in  the  Do- 
minion, but  that  they  refused  to  do  so, 
whereupon  Morgan  was  thrown  overboard 
from  a  rowboat  in  Niagara  River.  Weed 
says  he  promised  the  secret  would  not  be 
divulged  while  any  of  the  abductors  lived. 
In  1809  Weed  says  he  wrote  Whitney,  ask- 
ing for  a  written  account  of  the  affair  for 
pu1)lication  after  Whitney's  death,  when 
he  learned  that  Whitney  had  just  died. 
Weed's  account  of  this  did  not  appear  until 
1883.  Several  persons  were  apprehended 
for  the  abduction  of  Morgan,  but  none 
were  convicted.  The  Anti-Masonic  party 
appeared   in   western   New  York   early  in 


14 


ANTI-MASONRY 


1827;  and  in  1828,  aided  in  part  by  the 
"good  enough  Morgan  until  after  elec- 
tion," polled  33,305  votes  for  Governor 
of  New  York  State,  out  of  a  total  of 
276,583  ;  and,  as  Charles  M.  Harvey,  St. 
Louis,  states,  ''two  years  later  it  made 
such  inroads  on  the  New  York  State  Na- 
tional Eepublican  organization  that  the 
latter  virtually  vanished,"  and  the  Anti- 
Masonic  party  became,  for  the  time  being, 
the  only  oj^ponent  of  the  Democracy  in 
that  State.  In  Vermont  and  Pennsylvania 
it  also  displaced  the  National  Republican 
organization,  and  it  secured  a  strong  foot- 
hold in  Ohio,  Massachusetts,  and  a  few 
other  States.  The  Anti-Masons  entered 
the  national  field  for  the  Presidential  can- 
vass of  1832,  by  nominating  William  AVirt 
of  Maryland  for  President,  and  Amos 
Ellmaker  of  Pennsylvania  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent, by  national  convention,  as  early  as 
September,  1831,  the  first  national  Presi- 
dential convention  in  our  history.  Thir- 
teen States,  all  northern,  except  Delaware 
and  Maryland,  were  represented.  They 
met  early,  to  compel  the  National  Repub- 
licans to  withhold  the  candidacy  from 
Henry  Clay,  who  was  a  Freemason.  The 
National  Republicans  nominated  Clay, 
however,  who  was  badly  beaten  by  Andrew 
Jackson,  who  was  also  a  Freemason.  Only 
one  State,  Vermont,  was  carried  by  the 
Anti-Masons.  As  a  distinct  party  the 
Anti-Masons  never  took  part  in  another 
Presidential  campaign,  being  absorbed  by 
the  AVhigs,  which  succeeded  the  National 
Repnblican  party  in  1834.  In  State  can- 
vasses in  Vermont  and  Pennsylvania  the 
Anti-Masons  remained  a  factor  for  several 
years,  electing  Joseph  Ritner  Governor  of 
Pennsylvania  in  1835.  Some  of  the  or- 
ganizations known  as  '^' American  parties" 
in  the  past  twenty  years  have  had  anti- 
Masonic  planks  in  their  platforms,  but 
their  votes  have  been  too  few  to  be 
counted. 

Individual  prejudice  against  or  objection 
to  Freemasonry,  merely  because  of  the  secret 


character  of  the  society,  does  not  call  for 
extended  reference,  except  with  respect  to 
such  publications  as  have  had  sufficient 
weight  to  attract  general  attention.  Per- 
haps the  earliest  of  these  was  "  The  Natural 
History  of  Staffordshire,"  by  Robert  Plot, 
published  at  Oxford,  England,  in  1686, 
which  admitted  that  ''persons  of  the  most 
eminent  quality  did  not  disdain  to  be  of 
the  fellowship."  "  Masonry  Dissected,"  by 
Samuel  Prichard,  was  irablished  at  London 
in  1730,  and  replied  to  in  "A  Defence  of 
Masonry,"  by  James  Anderson,  London,  in 
1738.  Between  1762  and  1768  there  was  a 
flood  of  books  attacking  the  Fraternity,  nota- 
bly "Jachin  and  Boaz  "  (1762),  "Hiram, 
or  the  Grand  Master  Key"  (1766),  "The 
Three  Distinct  Knocks"  (1768),  and  in  the 
year  last  named  a  sermon,  also  published  at 
London,  entitled  "  Masonry  the  Way  to 
Hell,  .  .  .  Wherein  is  Clearly  Proved 
both  from  Reason  and  Scripture  that  all 
who  Profess  the  Mysteries  are  in  a  State  of 
Damnation."  The  final  English  work  of 
this  character  apjieared  a  century  ago,  in 
1797,  written  by  John  Robison,  Professor 
of  Natural  Philosophy,  and  Secretary  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh.  It  was  en- 
titled "Proofs  of  a  Conspiracy  against  all 
the  Religions  and  Governments  of  Europe 
carried  on  in  the  Secret  Meetings  of  Free- 
masons, Illuminati,  and  Reading  Societies," 
and  owes  preservation  solely  to  the  perma- 
nency of  the  institution  it  sought  to  destroy. 
The  earliest  antagonistic  publication  in 
France  was  "La  Grande  Lumiere,"  the 
author  of  which  had  several  imitators,  the 
best  known  of  whom  was  the  Abbe  Barruel, 
who  wrote  "  Memoires  pour  servir  a  I'his- 
toire  du  Jacobinism."  Barruel  was  a  priest 
and  a  royalist,  and  was  so  affected  by  the  re- 
sults of  the  French  Revolution  that  he  in- 
sisted the  consequences  of  that  movement 
were  the  outcome  of  the  machinations  of  the 
Freemasons  or  Jacobin  clubs.  But  where 
Robison  was  calm  and  dispassionate,  Bar- 
ruel became  abusive.  Anti-Masonic  publica- 
tions in  Spain  and  Italy  have  been  confined 


ANTI-MASONRY 


15 


principally  to  the    bulls  of  the  popes  and 
edicts  of  the  Iiuiiiisitiou.     In  defence  of  the 
edict  of  the  Council  of  Dautzic  against  the 
Fraternity,  a  book  appeared  in  1764  with  the 
name,    "Proofs  that  the  Society  of  Free- 
masons in  every  Country  is  not  only  Use- 
less, but,  if  )iot  Restricted,  Dangerous,  and 
ought    to    be    Interdicted."       Subsequent 
anti-Musonic     German     publications     Merc 
mostly  pamphlets.     In  the   United    States 
like  literature  began  with  Morgan's  book  in 
1828,  a  paraphrase  of  similar  early  English 
books,    and  was  followed  by   many   others 
with  no  special  claim  to  attention.     An  ex- 
ception is  found  in  **  Letters  on  Masonry 
and  Anti-Masonry  addressed  to  lion.  John 
Quincy  Adams,"  by  AVilliani  L.  Stone,  Xew 
York,  1832,  a  Freemason,  during  a  period 
of  intense  political  excitement,  uiul  desigiied 
solely  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  Anti- 
Masonic   party.     The   Anti-Masonic    party 
had  declared  that  the  jMasonic  Institution 
was  subversive  of  good  government,  and  in- 
tended for  the  political  aggrandizement  of 
its  leaders  ;  yet  Stone  had  the  fairness  to 
admit  that  "  the  fact  is  not  to  be  disguised 
— contradicted   it   cannot   be'' — that   anti- 
Masonry  had  become  so  thoroughly  political 
that  "its  spirit  Avas  vindictive  toward  the 
Freemasons  withoiit  distinction  as  to  guilt 
or   innocence."     Mackey   has   pointed  out 
that  Stone  condemned  Freemasonry  because 
of  the  acts   of   the  abductors   of   Morgan, 
whereas,    "as  well  might  the  vices  of  the 
Christians  of  Corinth  have  suggested  to  a 
contemporary  of  St.  Paul  the  propriety  of 
suppressing    Christianity."      "Letters    on 
the  Masonic  Institution,"  by  John  Quincy 
Adams,    ex-President,    which    appeared   in 
the  public  journals  between  1831  and  1833, 
Avere  collected  and  published  in  book  form 
in  1847.      The  severest  competent  Masonic 
criticism  of  Adams  may  be  found  in  ]\Iac- 
key's  "Encyclopaedia  of  Freemasonry" :  that 
he  Avas  "a  man  of  strong  points  a7id  weak 
ones,  of  vast  reading  and  wonderful  mem- 
ory,   of    great    credulity   and    strong    pre- 
judice " — dAvelling  continually,  ia  his  anti- 


Masonic  Avri tings,  on  "  the  oath  "  and  "  the 
murder  of  ^Morgan  " — a  victim  of  the  mis- 
representations of  the  Masonic  Fraternity. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  more  than  refer  to 
the  compilations  of  anti-Masonic  documents 
published  by  James  C.  Odiorne  and  by 
Henry  Gassett  at  Boston,  in  1830  and  1831, 
respectively. 

The  recovery  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity 
from  the  shock  of  the  inquisition  instituted 
by  the  Anti-Masonic  party  Avas  sIoav.     So 
violent  was  the  persecution  of  adhering  Free- 
masons that  many  Avere  driven  to  renounce 
the  society  in  order  to  live  in  peace.     Itin- 
erant lecturers  found  a  neAv  source  of  rev- 
enue l)y  pretending   to  give  j-jublic  repre- 
sentations of  Masonic  ceremonies;  almanac 
makers  filled  their  publications  with   cor- 
roborative details  as  to  the  essential  Avick- 
edness  of  Freemasonry  ;  and  jiretended  rev- 
elations of  the  secrets  of  Lodge,  Chapter, 
Conimandery,  and  of  some  of  the  Scottish 
Kite  bodies  Avere  ])eddled  about  the  country 
by  thrifty  Anti-Masons.    This  was  from  1830 
to  1835,  Avhen  to  confess  sympathy  or  con- 
nection Avith  Freemasonry  meant  social,  ])o- 
litical,  and  often  religious  ostracism.     It  is 
of  exceptional  interest  to  note  (as  may  be 
seen   by  reference   to   articles  under  those 
titles)  that  during  this  period  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  Avas  practically 
reorganized  and  began  a  more  active  career; 
that  the  Ancient  Order  of  Druids  and  the 
Ancient  Order   of   Hibernians  Avere  intro- 
duced into  the    United   States  from  Eng- 
land and  Ireland,  res])ectively ;  that  the  Im- 
l^roved   Order  of   Red   ^len  Avas  organized 
and  reestablished  as  at  present  constituted; 
that  the  college  fraternities  Kapjm  Alpha. 
Sigma    Phi,    and    Delta    Phi,    founded    at 
Union  College,  Schenectady,  X.  Y.,  a  few 
years  before,  took  on  rather  more  conven- 
tional secret  society  forms;  that  Alpha  Delta 
Phi  was  founded  at  Hamilton  College,  Clin- 
ton, X.   Y.,  in   1832,  and  Psi  Upsilon  at 
Union  College,   in  1833,  all  leading  Ameri- 
can college  secret  societies.    In  1831,  the  year 
that  Thurlow   Weed,  "William    II.   Seward, 


16 


BROTHERHOOD   OF   THE    XEW    LIFE 


and  Thaddeus  Stevens  went  as  delegates  to 
the  Anti-Masonic,  the  first  national  Presi- 
dential convention,  John  Quincy  Adams, 
Edward  Everett,  Joseph  Story,  and  other 
leading  Harvard  representatives  were  so 
overcome  with  the  anti-secret  society  feeling, 
that  they  indnced  members  of  the  Harvard 
Chapter  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa  to  violate  their 
pledges  of  secrecy  as  to  the  ''  mysteries  "  of 
the  mother  of  American  college  fraternities, 
and  make  that  organization  non-secret. 
There  is  food  for  thought  in  the  fact  that 
none  of  the  members  of  the  two  dozen  imi- 
tators or  offspring  of  the  secret  society  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  ever  imitated  it  by  formally  re- 
vealing their  secrets  on  the  college  campus, 
and  in  the  further  fact  that  the  two  college 
fraternities,  founded  respectively  in  1832 
and  1833,  one  year  and  two  years  after  the 
Harvard  Phi  Beta  Kappa  affair,  were  estab- 
lished as  secret  societies,  and  remain  among 
the  strongest  and  best  of  like  organizations 
to  this  day.  From  1832  to  1845,  or  during 
the  period  of  greatest  excitement  due  to  the 
anti-Masonic  agitation,  and  for  half  a  dozen 
years  thereafter,  the  college  secret  societies 
continued  to  multiply  and  to  establish  new 
Chapters,  from  which  an  inference  is  fair 
as  to  the  probable  origin  of  the  Masonic  cast 
given  the  earlier  rituals  of  some  of  them — 
all  of  those  named,  and  afterward  the  "  Mys- 
tical Seven."  Late  in  the  thirties  and 
early  in  the  following  decade  Freemasons 
began  to  gather  and  Lodges  to  open  and  do 
work.  The  recovery  was  not  rapid,  but  was 
steady,  and  during  the  ten  years  prior  to  the 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  the  Craft  regained 
what  it  had  lost  between  1828  and  1840. 
Since  the  Civil  War  the  progress  of  the  Fra- 
ternity has  been  so  great  that  all  opportunity 
for  successful  opposition  based  on  bigotry, 
ignorance,  or  prejudice  has  been  removed. 
One-half  the  Freemasons  in  the  world  are 
Americans;  one  man  in  every  thirteen  in  the 
country  is  a  member  of  the  Fraternity,  and 
its  membership,  as  a  whole,  includes  rejDre- 
sentatives  of  all  ranks  of  society.  They  are 
found  in  general  business  and  in  political, 


professional,  and  military  life;  as  President 
or  the  humblest  office-holder;  the  executive 
head  of  a  continental  system  of  railways,  or 
signalman ;  in  the  bishop,  priest,  clergyman, 
lawyer,  editor,  and  physician  or  the  ordinary 
wayfaring  man  of  commerce,  whether  propri- 
etor or  clerk;  as  admiral  or  marine,  as  gen- 
eral or  private.  Freemasons  constitute  a 
dominant  seventh  as  well  as  an  influence 
in  all  other  reputable  secret  societies  in  the 
United  States.  The  total  membership  of  all 
of  them,  allowing  for  a  proportion  belonging 
to  several  organizations,  cannot  be  fewer 
than  six  million,  one-third  the  total  adult 
population  of  the  country.  To  such  pro- 
portions have  Freemasonry  and  like  soci- 
eties grown,  that  were  a  tithe  of  the  allega- 
tions true  which  are  made  against  the  parent 
organization  by  its  detractors,  society  at 
large  would  be  reaping  a  whirlwind. 

Brotherhood  of  the  New  Life. — 
A  mystical,  religious,  communal  society 
founded  by  Thomas  Lake  Harris,  at  Moun- 
tain Cove,  N,  C,  in  1851.  It  disbanded  in 
1853,  owing  to  internal  dissensions.  He 
formed  a  second  community,  in  1858,  at 
Amenia,  Dutchess  County,  N.  Y.,  which 
shortly  after  removed  to  Brockton,  Chautau- 
qua County,  in  the  same  State.  Croups  of 
three  or  four  persons  were  formed  in  the 
Brotherhood,  but  if  affection  resulted,  the 
group  was  broken  up.  Parents  were  separated 
from  children,  and  husbands  from  wives. 
Harris  was  born  in  England  in  1824,  but 
most  of  his  early  life  was  passed  at  or  near 
L'"tica,  N.  Y.  He  was  evidently  impressed 
by  the  Mormon  movement,  which  began  at 
Palmyra,  and  by  the  Fox  Sisters'  phenomena 
at  Kochester,  N.  Y.  He  became  a  Swe- 
denborgian  and  a  spiritualist.  He  declared 
that  his  journey  to  North  Carolina  and  the 
founding  of  the  Brotherhood  were  direct  re- 
sults of  communications  from  the  Lord,  and 
that  it  was  as  the  direct  representative  of 
the  latter  that  he  remained  at  the  head  of 
the  movement,  and  held  titles  to  property 
in  trust  for  the  discif)les  and  the  commu- 
nity.    His  followers  lived  in  separate  houses 


FREEMASONRY 


17 


and  dressed  as  did  people  generally,  but 
they  Avore  their  hair  long,  observed  the  fifth 
day  of  the  week  as  a  day  of  rest,  opposed 
marriage,  and  advocated  Platonic  love. 
None  of  the  critics  of  the  Brotherhood  has 
charged  them  with  immorality.  Harris's 
most  distinguished  disciple  was  Lawrence 
Oliphant,  over  whom,  from  1867  to  nearly 
the  time  of  the  latter's  death  in  1881,  he 
exercised  a  remarkable  influence.  In  1875 
Harris  and  many  of  his  followers  reestab- 
lished the  Brotherhood  at  Santa  Kosa,  Cali- 
fornia. There  he  is  said  to  have  overcome 
his  asceticism,  and  in  1891  was  declared  to 
have  announced  that  he  had  discovered  the 
secret  of  perpetual  youth.  In  1892  he  left 
his  luxurious  home  in  California,  came  to 
New  York  City,  married,  and  settled  down. 
Some  members  of  the  Brotherhood  are  re- 
ported to  still  live  in  California  and  some  in 
Nebraska. 

Brotherhood  of  the  West  Gate. — A 
brotherhood  seeking  to  solve  '"the  esoteric 
mysteries  of  the  microcosm,"  the  restora- 
tion of  ''inner  harmony,"  in  the  face  of 
which  "  wealth,  fame,  and  power  .  .  .  sink 
into  nothingness."  It  publishes  ''  The  Ora- 
cle "  at  Bridgeton,  Maine. 

E-soter-ists  of  the  West. — Little  is 
learned  of  this  brotherhood  beyond  its  name, 
its  excessively  secret  character,  and  the  ex- 
planation that  the  word  "  west  "  refers  to  the 
Americas.  The  division  of  the  word  "  Esoter- 
ists  "  in  the  title  evidently  has  some  partic- 
ular significance. 

Freemasonry. — The  Ancient  and  Hon- 
orable Society  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
usually  referred  to  as  Ancient,  Free,  and 
Accepted  Masons,  sometimes  as  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons  (A,  F.  &  A.  !M.  or  F.  & 
A.  M.),  is  a  secret  fraternity,  founded  upon 
man's  religious  aspirations,  which,  by  forms, 
ceremonies,  and  elaborate  symbolism,  seeks 
to  create  a  universal  brotherhood,  to  relieve 
suffering,  cultivate  the  virtues,  and  join  in 
the  endless  search  for  truth.  It  is  the  oldest 
and  most  widely  distributed  secret  society, 
having  an  active  membership  of  1,400,000 
2 


in  the  more  than  25,000  Lodges  which,  ex- 
cept in  Austria  and  Russia,  mark  the  paths 
of  commerce  and  civilization  throughout  the 
Avorld. 

The  student  of  the  history  of  the  Craft 
may  be  glad  to  know  that  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin, who  was  a  Freemason,  wrote  of  the 
Fraternity  as  follows  : 

It  lias  secrets  peculiar  to  itself;  but  of  what  do 
those  principally  consist?  They  consist  of  signs  and 
toiccns,  wiiich  serve  as  testimonials  of  character  and 
qualifications,  which  are  only  conferred  after  a  due 
course  of  instruction  and  examination.  These  are 
of  no  small  value;  they  speak  a  universal  language, 
and  act  as  a  passport  to  the  attention  and  su[)port 
of  the  initiated  in  all  parts  of  the,  world.  They  can- 
not be  lost  so  long  as  memory  retains  its  power.  Let 
the  possessor  of  them  be  expatriated,  shipwrecked, 
or  imprisoned;  let  him  be  stripped  of  everything  he 
has  got  in  the  world;  still  these  credentials  remain 
and  are  available  for  use  as  circumstances  require. 
The  great  effects  which  they  have  produced  are 
established  by  the  most  incontestable  facts  of  his- 
tory. They  have  stayed  the  uplifted  hand  of  the 
destroyer;  they  have  softened  the  asperities  of  the 
tyrant;  they  have  mitigated  the  horrors  of  cap- 
tivity; they  have  subdued  the  rancor  of  malevo- 
lence, and  broken  down  the  barriers  of  political 
animosity  and  sectarian  alienation.  On  the  field  of 
battle,  in  the  solitude  of  the  uncultivated  forests,  or 
in  the  busy  haunts  of  the  crowded  city,  they  have 
made  men  of  the  most  hostile  feelings,  and  most 
distant  religions,  and  the  most  diversified  condi- 
tions, rush  to  the  aid  of  each  other,  and  feel  social 
joy  and  satisfaction  that  they  have  been  able  to 
afford  relief  to  a  Ijrother  Mason. 

"^rhe  Fraternity  as  now  organized  dates 
from  1717,  wljen  the  four  old  Lodges  in  Lon- 
don met  and  formed  a  Grand  Lodge.  The 
most  ancient  Freemasons  referred  to  in  trust- 
worthy historical  records  were  the  opera- 
tive stone  masons  or  builders  of  the  ^Middle 
Ages,  referred  to  in  England  as  far  back  as 
the  eighth  century.  About  three  hundred 
years  ago  the  operative  Craft  in  England, 
France,  and  Germany  began  to  disintegrate. 
This  Avas  the  natural  consequence  of  not 
only  the  Reformation  and  the  Thirty  Years' 
AVar,  but  of  the  completion  of  the  churches 
and  cathedrals  upon  which  the  stone  ma- 
sons' guilds  had  been  engaged  for  several 


18 


FREEMASONRY 


centuries,  originally  with  the  assistance  of 
the  Church.  These  bands  of  traveling 
builders  held  a  general  assembly  at  Stras- 
burg  in  1275,  and  another  nearly  one  hun- 
dred years  later,  at  whicli  laws  were  framed 
and  a  fraternity  formed.  Guilds  were  com- 
posed of  apprentices,  craftsmen,  and  masters, 
had  an  initiatory  ceremony  and  a  sign. 
Traveling  from  city  to  city  throughout  Cen- 
tral and  Western  Europe,  they  constituted 
the  first,  or  operative  Free  Masons,  so-called 
because  they  enjoyed  privileges  granted  by 
the  Church  and  civil  authorities,  OAving  to 
their  skill  in  architecture  and  the  charac- 
ter of  the  edifices  they  built.  When  the 
churches  and  cathedrals  were  completed,  the 
guilds  began  to  disappear.  In  France  the 
guilds,  which  were  more  directly  the  out- 
come of  the  Eoman  occupation  of  the  coun- 
trv,  and  of  the  colleges  of  artificers  which 
accompanied  the  Eoman  legions,  were  abol- 
ished about  153G-39.  Upon  their  ruins 
there  arose  a  new  type  of  workingmen's 
guilds  known  as  the  Companionage.  By 
1655  this  had  spread  throughout  France, 
'divided  into  three  separate  fraternities  com- 
posed of  various  trades,  or,  as  we  would  say, 
unions,  the  oldest  being  known  as  the  Sons 
of  Solomon.  The  other  two  sprang  from 
the  Sons  of  Solomon,  and  were  bitter  rivals. 
One  was  known  as  the  Sous  of  Maitre 
Jacques.  Its  traditions  carried  the  society 
back  to  King  Solomon's  Temple,  and  in  the 
untimely  death  of  Maitre  Jacques  is  found 
a  striking  parallel  to  the  story  of  Hiram. 
The  Sons  of  Soubise,  an  offshoot  of  the  Sons 
of  Maitre  Jacques,  possessed  many  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  latter.  No  description 
of  the  Companionage  was  made  public  until 
1841,  nearly  one  hundred  and  twelve  years 
after  the  introduction  of  Freemasonry  into 
France  from  England,  notwithstanding  the 
story  of  the  building  of  King  Solomon's 
Temple  and  the  death  of  Iliram  formed  a 
part  of  the  legends  of  the  Companionage. 
The  foregoing,  as  pointed  out  in  Gould's 
"History  of  Freemasonry,"  appears  to  be 
the  earliest  account  of  the  death  of  the  mas- 


ter builder,  for  there  is  no  reference  to  the 
Hiramic  legend  in  Freemasonry  until  after 
the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Lon- 
don in  1717,  more  than  sixty  years  after  the 
French  Companionage  had  reached  the 
height  of  its  career. 

Among  various  theories  as  to  the  origin 
of  modern  Freemasonry,  the  following  have 
had  many  advocates:  (1)  That  which  car- 
ries it  back  through  the  mediaeval  stone  ma- 
sons to  the  Ancient  Mysteries,  or  to  King 
Solomon's  Temple;  (2)  not  satisfied  with 
the  foregoing,  that  which  traces  it  to  Noah, 
to  Enoch,  and  to  Adam;  (3)  the  theory  that 
the  cradle  of  Freemasonry  is  to  be  found  in 
the  Eoman  Colleges  of  Artificers  of  the  ear- 
lier centuries  of  the  Christian  era;  (4)  that 
it  was  brought  into  Europe  ,by  the  return- 
ing Crusaders;  (5)  that  it  was  an  emanation 
from  the  Templars  after  the  sujipression  of 
the  Order  in  1312;  (G)  that  it  formed  a  vir- 
tual continuation  of  the  Eosicrucians;  (7) 
that  it  grew  out  of  the  secret  society  crea- 
tions of  the  partisans  of  the  Stuarts  in  their 
efforts  to  regain  the  throne  of  England;  (8) 
that  it  was  derived  from  the  Essenes,  and 
(9)  from  the  Culdees. 

Whatever  may  have  been  believed  as  to 
Freemasonry  being  traceable  to  any  of  the 
foregoing,  the  results  of  the  investigations 
of  E.  F.  Gould,  W.  J.  Ilughan,  and  Eev. 
A.  F.  A.  Woodford  of  England,  D.  Mur- 
ray Lyon  of  Scotland,  Albert  Pike,  G.  F. 
Fort,  Albert  G.  Mackey,  Charles  T.  McClen- 
achan,  E.  T.  Carson,  T.  S.  Parvin,  Josiah 
H.  Drummond,  and  others  in  the  United 
States,  ''  Masonic  authors  of  repute  and  dili- 
gent students  of  Masonic  records,''  make  it 
j)lain  that  while  the  rites  and  symbols  of 
Freemasonry  have  great  antiquity,  specu- 
lative Freemasonry,  as  an  organization,  is 
modern,  probably  not  over  three  hundred 
years  old. 

The  Essenes,  the  only  one  of  the  three 
ancient  Jewish  sects  mentioned  in  the  Bible 
which  was  not  referred  to  unfavorably,  has 
been  regarded  by  some  as  the  cradle  of  an- 
cient Freemasonry.     It  had  existed  "from 


FREEMASONRY 


19 


time  immemorial,"  but  disappeared  about 
400  A.D.  The  Essenes  are  said  to  have  per- 
fected the  Jewish  Kabbala,  to  have  believed 
in  miraculous  cures,  to  have  regarded  them- 
selves as  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  to 
have  been  '"forerunners  of  the  ^reesiah." 
They  had  secret  means  of  recognition,  and 
taught  that  all  things  were  not  for  all  men, 
but  there  has  been  no  more  connection  sliown 
between  the  ancient  Essenes  and  modern 
Freemasonry  than  that  Masonic  scholars  and 
ritualists  may  have  found  something  in  al- 
leged Essenic  rites  worthy  of  assimilation 
in  latter-day  mysteries.  The  Culdees  were 
Apostolic  Christians,  monks  of  Eastern  ori- 
gin. They  were  encountered  in  Ireland 
about  the  fifth  century,  and  later  in  Scot- 
land. They  were  opposed  by  8t.  Augus- 
tine, and  virtually  disappeared  in  the  four- 
teenth century.  They  were  teachers  of  civ- 
ilization, church  architects  and  builders, 
and  it  has  been  claimed  they  were  connected 
with  early  Scotch  and  Irish  operative  Free- 
masons. The  partisans  of  tlie  Stuarts  were 
active,  and  some  were  prominent  Freema- 
sons ;  but  while  they  contributed  something 
to  the  rituals  of  so-called  higher  degrees, 
they  had  no  permanent  influence  upon  the 
institution.  The  real  Rosicrucians  were 
mystics  who  flourished  in  Germany,  France, 
and  England  in  the  latter  portion  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  Contrary  to  views 
Avhich  have  been  held,  it  Avas  not  a  society, 
and  was  not  concerned  merely  in  an  efi^ort 
to  transform  baser  metals  into  gold  and  to 
discover  the  secret  of  perpetual  youth,  which 
synibolized  a  search  for  divine  truth  and 
immortal  life.  The  IJosicrucians  were  un- 
doubtedly in  advance  of  their  time,  but  not 
too  much  so  to  borrow  freely  from  the  sym- 
bolism of  the  ancient  mysteries  and  of  the 
Gnostics.  A  number  of  eminent  Rosicru- 
cijins  were  Freemasons,  notably  Elias  Ash- 
mole,  the  antiquary.  What  Freemasonry 
owes  to  the  Rosicrucians  may  never  be 
known,  although  something  may  be  inferred 
by  students  who  are  familiar  with  both 
societies.     (See  Freemasonry,  Rosicrucians, 


etc.)  Gould  (R.  F. )  thinks  Freemasonry 
may  have  been  tinged  with  Rosicrucianism 
through  the  influence  of  Ashmole  and 
others,  but  points  to  there  being  no  real 
evidence  of  it  aside  from  the  fact  that  Free- 
masonry presents  the  double  and  single  tri- 
angles, the  hexagon,  the  point  within  a  cir- 
cle, a  magical  aljjhabet,  and  a  searcli  for 
light.  The  ignorance  and  superstition  of 
the  mass  of  the  people  in  the  seventeenth 
century  led  them  to  regard  the  brethren  of 
the  Rosy  Cross,  who  were  theosophists  first, 
and  Kabbalistsand  alchemists  afterwards,  as 
dealers  in  magic  and  in  league  with  the 
devil.  Those  who  have  favored  the  theory 
that  modern  Freemasonry  was  the  outgrowth 
of  Rosicrucianism  have  added  that  so  much 
were  the  i)ublic  inflamed  against  the  Rosi- 
crucians that  the  latter  were  obliged  to  shel- 
ter themselves  under  the  cloak  of  Fi-ee- 
masonry,  when  they  gave  to  the  latter  a 
Christian  interpretation.  By  the  end  of 
the  seventeenth  century  Europe  Avas  covered 
with  pretended  Rosicrucians  offering  to  com- 
municate the  occult  for  money.  The  theory 
that  Freemasonry  appeared  in  Europe  upon 
the  return  of  the  Crusaders  has  long  been 
abandoned,  but  its  successor  was  a  French 
Templar  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  institu- 
tion, and  in  some  portions  of  Europe  it  still 
finds  advocates.  It  I'ests  on  a  legend  that 
the  Knights  Templars,  at  the  destruction  of 
the  Order  and  the  burning  of  Jacques  de 
Molay,  fled  to  Scotland,  Avhere  they  became 
Freemasons  and  propagated  the  rite.  The 
French  Ordre  du  Temple  is  based  upon  a 
modification  of  this  theory,  as  were  the 
Strict  Observance  in  Germany,  and  other 
rites.  There  is,  however,  nothing  in  this 
except  the  legend,  for  Freemasonry  a.s  it 
existed  in  England  in  1717  has  been  shown 
to  be  the  result  of  the  evolution  of  guilds  of 
operative  stone  masons,  who,  it  is  needless 
to  add,  could  never  have  derived  their  rites 
and  formuhe  from  the  original  Knights 
Templars,  who  were  men  of  rank.  The 
story  that  the  Fraternity  was  founded  at  the 
building  of  King  Solomon's  Temple,  and 


20 


FREEMASONRY 


has  enjoyed  an  uninterrupted  existence  ever 
since,  is  one  of  the  myths  of  the  organiza- 
tion which  has  been  innocently  believed  by 
many,  but  which  does  not  merit  serious  at- 
ten  tion .  The  mystical  meanings  of  Masonic 
references  to  King  Solomon's  Temple,  not 
only  in  the  symbolic  degrees,  but  also  in  the 
haute  grades,  have  not  always  been  under- 
stood, even  by  members  of  the  Craft.  The 
carrying  back  of  the  Fraternity  to  the  ante- 
diluvian age  has  been  due  to  an  inability  to 
distinguish  between  an  idea  and  a  fact.  So- 
cieties have  existed  in  all  ages  of  the  world 
for  the  propagation  of  truth,  morality,  and 
the  practice  of  that  which  is  involved  in  a 
universal  brotherhood;  have  risen,  flour- 
ished, and  died.  Others  have  been  born, 
have  borrowed  from  those  which  went  be- 
fore, and  they  in  turn  have  died.  But  he 
is  bold,  indeed,  who  professes  to  trace  an 
uninterrupted  succession  or  an  identity  of 
organization  for  them  all.  The  earlier  Eng- 
lish associations  of  operative  builders,  who 
were  first  called  Free  Masons  in  the  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  centuries,  because  of 
the  freedom  granted  them  to  work  and  to 
sell  the  products  of  their  labor,  may  or  may 
not  have  been  the  offspring  of  German  stone 
masons'  guilds  who  built  the  churches  and 
cathedrals  erected  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The 
Roman  Colleges  of  Artificers  who  accompa- 
nied the  imperial  armies  on  their  excursions 
throughout  Europe  naturally  had  an  influ- 
ence on  not  only  the  English  guilds  at  the 
time  of  the  Roman  occupation  of  Britain, 
but  upon  the  French  and  German  guilds  as 
well.  But  the  Freemason  knows  of  that 
which  could  not  well  have  been  derived  from 
the  medigeval  guilds,  or  from  the  Roman 
Colleges,  and  naturally  inquires  as  to  its 
source.  During  the  sixteenth  century  the 
German  and  French  fraternities  of  travel- 
ing builders  virtually  disappeared.  The 
French  Compaiiionage  (trades  unions)  was 
founded  upon  the  ruins  of  the  latter,  but 
had  no  known  connection  with  the  forma- 
tion of  speculative  Freemasonry,  so  that  in 
the  seventeenth  and  early  in  the  eighteenth 


century  speculative  Freemasonry  as  distinct 
from  the  operative  Craft,  that  which  in- 
dulged only  in  the  symbolism  of  the  work 
jierformed  by  the  earlier  Free  Masons,  was 
confined  to  Great  Britain  alone.  Nowhere 
else  iu  the  world  was  it  to  be  found,  and 
whether  the  association  of  learned  men  with 
the  earlier  English  operative  Free  Masons 
was  due  to  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the  lat- 
ter to  interest  others  than  those  of  the  Craft 
to  secure  immunity  at  the  hands  of  the  no- 
bility or  not,  it  remains  true  that  profes- 
sional and  literary  Englishmen,  some  learned 
in  astrology,  alchemy,  and  Kabbalistic  lore, 
theoretic  geometricians,  and  architect  ma- 
sons, identified  themselves  from  time  to 
time  with  the  declining  operative  frater- 
nity. A  notable  instance  was  the  initiation 
of  Elias  Ashmole,  the  antiquary,  in  1746, 
and  it  is  not  a  mere  inference  that  his  join- 
ing the  society  was  not  the  only  instance  of 
the  kind.  This  class  of  membership  was 
honorary  at  first,  whence  the  term  Free  and 
"Accepted"  Masons.  In  1703  a  formal 
effort  was  made  to  change  the  organization 
from  an  operative  to  a  speculative  fraternity, 
as  the  old  English  lodges  were  dying  out, 
only  seven  surviving  the  eighteenth  century 
in  the  city  of  London.  The  professed  de- 
sire was  to  found  a  brotherhood  which  would 
build  spiritual  instead  of  material  temples, 
to  become  Freemasons  as  distinct  from  Free 
Masons  who  were  workmen  or  ordinary  la- 
borers. When  a  Grand  Lodge  was  formed 
at  London  in  1717,  there  was,  so  far  as 
known,  only  a  single  ceremonial  or  degree  ; 
but  within  six  or  seven  years,  or  by  1724, 
the  three  symbolic  degrees,  Entered  Appren- 
tice, Fellowcraft,  and  Master  Mason,  had 
made  their  appearance.  The  craft  guilds 
had  contributed  the  square  and  compasses  ; 
their  patron  saint,  St.  John  the  Baptist ;  a 
reference  to  King  Solomon's  Temple  ;  the 
two  famous  pillars  ;  the  mystical  numbers 
five,  seven,  and  nine  ;  words  and  grips  and 
a  long  and  honorable  record  as  builders  of 
English  churches  and  cathedrals  under  codes 
of  laws  for  their  government,  which  oral  and 


FREEMASONRY 


21 


manuscript  tradition  carried  back  prior  to 
the  teuth  century,  when,  in  93G,  it  was  said 
that  ii  generul  assembly  of  Masons  was  held 
at  York  under  the  patronage  of  Edwin, 
brother  of  Athelstan,  where  a  code  of  laws 
was  adopted  which  became  the  basis  of  sub- 
sequent English  craft  constitutions.  Not- 
withstanding allegations  that  general  Ma- 
sonic assemblies  Avere  periodically  held  at 
York  thereafter,  Gould  says  there  is  no  sub- 
stantial reason  for  believing  that  more  than 
one  general  assembly  (the  prototype  of  the 
Grand  Lodge)  was  held  at  York  prior  to 
1717.  The  English  operative  Free  Masons 
may  be  admitted  to  have  preserved  traces  of 
the  influence  of  the  teachings  of  the  Druids 
(which  see)  ;  the  Culdees,  who  also  claimed 
to  have  been  granted  a  charter  by  Edwin; 
of  the  Roman  Colleges,  and  of  the  English 
Church, with  the  Holy  Bible  and  altar  lights; 
but  details  of  the  introdiTction  of  the  Hi- 
ramic  legend  will  probably  forever  remain  a 
mystery.  Y"et,  Avith  the  foregoing  in  mind, 
it  is  evident  that  Freemasonry  includes 
much  that  Avas  not  in  possession  of  the  four 
old  London  Lodges  in  1717. 

The  oldest  of  the  ancient  mysteries,  those 
practised  at  Memphis  in  Egypt,  centred 
about  Isis,  Serapis,  and  Osiris,  and  the 
lesson  taught  Avas  that  of  regeneration 
through  death.  Like  those  Avhich  followed, 
they  presented  a  dialogue,  ritual,  and  con- 
trasts betAA^een  liglit  and  darkness,  death 
and  regeneration.  The  candidates  had 
to  undergo  purification,  trial,  failure,  and 
even  death  before  being  regenerated  amid 
rejoicings.  The  Grecian  or  Eleusinian 
mysteries  (1800  B.C.)  represented  Demeter 
(Ceres)  and  Persephone,  and  depicted  the 
death  of  Dionysus  Avith  an  elaborate  ce- 
remonial Avhicli  led  the  neophyte  from 
death  into  life  and  immortality.  Initiates 
were  taught  the  existence  of  a  Supreme 
Being  and  invested  Avith  the  signs  of  and 
membership  in  a  fraternity.  The  Mithraic 
or  Persian  mysteries  celebrated  the  eclipse 
of  the  sun  god,  introduced  the  signs  of  the 
zodiac,  the  procession   of  the  seasons,   the 


death  of  nature  in  winter,  and  its  birth  in 
spring.  They  Avere  popular  in  Home  in  the 
earlier  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  and 
are  said  to  have  had  an  influence  on  the 
Roman  Colleges  of  Artificers,  by  Avhom  they 
may  have  been  disseminated.  The  Adoniac 
or  Syrian  mysteries  Avere  similar,  those  in 
Avhicli  Venus,  Adonis,  and  Proserpine  fig- 
ured, in  Avhich  Adonis  Avas  killed,  but  revived 
to  point  to  life  through  death.  The  Cabiric 
mysteries  (1000  li.c),  Avhich  disappeared 
shortly  after  the  Christian  era,  Avere  prac- 
tised on  the  island  of  Samothrace.  'J' he 
Cabiri  Avere  gods,  and,  in  the  ceremonial, 
Atys  the  Sun  Avas  killed  by  his  brothers  the 
Seasons,  and  at  the  vernal  equinox  was  re- 
stored to  life.  So,  also,  the  Druids  taught 
of  one  God  and  the  lesson  of  the  procession 
of  the  seasons,  and  conducted  the  initiate 
through  the  valley  of  death  to  everlasting 
life.  The  Gnostics  are  supposed  to  have  in- 
cluded some  of  the  earlier  Christians,  for 
their  doctrines  contain  a  mixture  of  Chris- 
tianity and  the  Persian  religion.  They 
taught  by  means  of  symbols,  many  of  wliich, 
including  a  secret  reference  to  Deity,  the 
double  triangle,  the  lion,  serpent,  etc.,  are 
familiar  to  Freemasons.  It  Avill  be  seen 
that  the  Rosier ucians  Avere  indebted  to  the 
Gnostics  even  as  they  were  to  the  Kabbal- 
ists.  The  latter  taught  a  mystical  inter- 
pretation of  the  Scriptures,  a  secret  method 
of  treating  sacred  subjects  by  means  of  sym- 
bols, and  a  peciiliar  use  of  letters  of  Avords 
based  upon  their  A'alues.  The  student  of  the 
ancient  mysteries,  all  or  nearly  all  of  which 
prior  to  their  perversion  taught  purity, 
morality,  immortality,  and  the  existence  of 
a  Supreme  Being,  cannot  fail  to  perceive, 
if  in  a  position  to  judge,  that  Freemasonry 
stands  as  the  successor  or  repository  of 
much  of  that  Avhich  Avas  noblest  and  best  in 
them,  liut  he  also  knows  of  much  Avhich 
this  theory  does  not  account  for,  to  explain 
which  one  must  go  to  Pythagoras  and  his 
celebrated  school  at  Crotona,  in  Greece, 
founded  a.d.  58G.  Pythagoras,  after  being 
initiated  into  the  Egyptian  and  Eleusinian 


22 


FREEMASONRY 


mysteries,  formed  a  secret  society  of  his 
own,  with  three  degrees,  in  wliich,  among 
other  things,  he  taught  geometry,  me- 
tempsychosis, and  the  mystical  power  of 
numbers.  From  these  the  Rosicrucians  bor- 
rowed, and  from  the  forms  and  symbolism 
of  the  Kabbalists,  Gnostics,  and  Pythago- 
reans as  perfected  by  the  Rosicrucians,  from 
the  Greek,  Egyptian,  and  Oriental  philoso- 
phy of  the  Alexandrian  school  of  Neoplato- 
nism,  and  from  the  ancient  mysteries.  Free- 
masonry has  taken  enough  to  mark  it  with 
the  leading  characteristics  of  all  ancient  and 
mystical  schools  of  religion  and  philosophy 
— circumambulation,  the  use  of  aprons,  the 
forty-seventh  problem  of  Euclid,  a  cipher, 
and  the  lesson  taught  by  the  story  of  the 
illustrious  Tyrian  substituted  for  legends  of 
Osiris,  Adonis,  Atys,  and  Dionysus.  That 
Masonic  enthusiasts,  antiquarians,  and  rit- 
ualists superimposed  these  relics  npon  Free- 
masonry as  it  had  existed  for  about  one  hun- 
dred years  prior  to  1717,  there  can  be  little 
doubt.  The  Fraternity,  therefore,  presents 
three  classes  of  symbols :  Pagan,  derived  from 
the  same  source  as  Christianity  obtained 
them;  those  contributed  by  the  operative 
Masons,  and  the  exclusively  Christian  sym- 
bols. It  also  shows  traces  of  the  Vehmge- 
richte,  or  secret  society  of  Free  Judges,  which 
was  prominent  in  Germany  in  the  thirteenth 
century.  The  latter  was  formed  to  pro- 
tect the  innocent  from  injustice,  held  its 
courts  in  the  forest  at  night,  and  executed 
its  judgments  without  fear  or  favor.  It 
granted  audience  alike  to  noble  and  peas- 
ant, and  few  were  bold  enough  to  ignore 
its  summons  or  treat  its  judgments  with  dis- 
respect. Traces  of  the  society  in  a  modified 
form  were  found  as  late  as  the  present  cen- 
tury. (See  Ancient  Order  of  Freesmiths.) 
Its  oath  was  of  a  most  solemn  character, 
binding  the  initiate  to  "conceal,  hold,  and 
not  reveal,"'  etc.  Its  chief  symbol  was  the 
arrow,  and  for  a  violation  of  the  vow  the 
penalty  was  death.  The  introduction  into 
the  ritual  of  Freemasonry,  about  1825,  of 
the   story  of  Hiram   was  a  master   stroke. 


If  a  like  legend  among  the  French  trades 
guilds,  or  Companionage,  for  sixty-five  years 
prior  to  1717,  does  not  explain  where  the 
Freemasons  of  1717-24  got  it,  it  must  be  re- 
garded as  a  most  extraordinary  coincidence. 
Within  ten  years  after  the  formation  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  at  London,  in 
1717,  Freemasonry  had  spread  throughout 
the  United  Kingdom  and  the  Continent  of 
Europe,  to  many  of  the  British  colonies, 
and  by  1730  to  those  in  America.  With  the 
ap2:)ointment  of  the  Duke  of  Montagu  as 
Grand  Master,  in  1720,  the  impetus  given 
the  growth  of  the  institution  became  pro- 
nounced, and,  as  one  author  points  out,  the 
Fraternity  almost  lost  its  breath  in  the  race 
for  popularity.  Many  men  distinguished 
in  the  professions,  in  politics,  and  as  repre- 
sentatives of  the  nobility,  not  only  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  but  on  the  Continent  of 
Europe,  became  members  of  the  Fraternity, 
and  not  a  few  of  them  were  conspicuous 
as  its  officers.  With  prosperity  there  natu- 
rally came  antagonisms,  for  some  of  which 
see  Anti-Masonry.  As  early  as  1724  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  England  granted  a  charter 
for  a  subordinate  Lodge  at  the  ancient  city 
of  York,  which  is  presumed  to  have  antag- 
onized a  Lodge  of  Freemasons  which  had 
existed  there  since  1705,  as  shown  by  its 
records,  and  with  little  doubt  for  a  period 
ranging  far  back  into  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. The  ancient  Lodge  thereupon  consti- 
tuted itself  a  "Grand  Lodge  of  all  Eng- 
land "  (1725),  but  does  not  appear  to  have 
instituted  more  than  one  or  two  subordinate 
Lodges  prior  to  1740,  when  it  became  dor- 
mant, and  remained  so  for  twenty  years  or 
more.  But  it  does  not  appear  to  have  ac- 
tively opposed  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England 
at  London,  which  had  been  and  was  still 
engaged  in  chartering  subordinate  Lodges 
at  home  and  abroad.  In  1761  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  all  England,  at  York,  became  ac- 
tive again,  and  chartered  a  number  of  sub- 
ordinate Lodges  in  two  counties  in  England. 
Ten  years  before,  in  1751,  nine  subordinate 
Lodges   holding    allegiance    to  the    Grand 


FREEMASONRY 


23 


Lodge  of  England  seceded  from  that  body, 
on  the  ground  that  the  latter  suffered  sub- 
ordinate Lodges  of  its  jurisdiction  to  depart 
from  the  ancient  landmarks  and  practise 
that  which  had  previously  been  unknown  in 
Freemasonry.  The  seceders  organized  a 
"  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  According  to 
old  Institutions,"  describing  themselves  as 
"  Ancients,"  and  the  members  of  the  orig- 
inal Grand  Lodge  of  England  as  "  Mod- 
erns." The  animating  spirit  of  the  seced- 
ing (Ancient)  Grand  Lodge  was  Laurence 
Dermott,  its  Grand  Secretary,  Avho  was  an 
able  administrator  and  executive,  but  an 
audacious  antagonist.  Dermott  compiled 
the  '*  Ahiman  Rezon,"  or  Book  of  Con- 
stitutions of  the  Ancients,  in  1756,  which  he 
copied  from  the  Constitutions  of  the  orig- 
inal or  so-called  Modern  Grand  Lodge,  and 
addressed  it  to  "the  Ancient  York  Masons 
in  England."'  The  rivalry  between  the  two 
London  Grand  Lodges,  Ancient  and  Mod- 
ern, was  keen,  and  at  times  bitter.  The 
seceders  granted  many  warrants  to  army 
Lodges,  which  bore  good  fruit  by  making 
Ancient  Masons  in  many  parts  of  the  world 
where  the  English  army  was  stationed  dur- 
ing the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Dermott  was  made  a  Freemason  in  Dublin 
about  1740,  and  testified  to  his  appreciation 
of  the  Lodge  wherein  he  was  raised  by  copy- 
ing its  by-laws  and  using  them  as  the  by- 
laws of  the  Ancients.  He  received  the 
Koyal  Arch  degree  in  Ireland  before  com- 
ing to  Loudon,  then  an  unsystematized  de- 
gree, borrowed  presumably  from  the  French, 
and  afterwards  utilized  it  in  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Ancients.  The  Moderns  likewise  suffered 
from  the  mania  for  higher  or  more  degrees 
which  characterized  the  latter  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  thus  it  was  that  at 
the  reunion  of  the  Ancients  under  the  Grand 
Mastership  of  the  Duke  of  Sussex  with  the 
Moderns  under  the  Duke  of  Kent,  Ancient 
Freemasonry  was  declared  to  consist  of  the 
three  symbolic  degrees.  Entered  Apprentice, 
Fellowcraft,  and  Master  Mason,  "  including 
the  Holy  Royal  Arch." 


After  the  revival  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
all  England,  at  York,  in  1701,  it  continued 
neutral  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  and 
that  of  the  seceding  body,  the  Ancients. 
Late  in  the  last  century,  after  the  death  of 
its  several  subordinate  Lodges,  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  all  England  was  discontinued. 
In  1779  an  expelled  faction  of  the  Lodge  of 
Antiquity  at  London  (one  of  the  four  Lodges 
which  united  to  form  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England  in  1717),  together  with  a  deputa- 
tion from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  all  England 
at  York,  formed  another  Grand  Body  under 
the  title,  ''Grand  Lodge  of  England  south 
of  the  Trent."  But  in  1789  the  expelled 
members  of  the  Lodge  of  Antiquity  apolo- 
gized to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  and, 
upon  petition,  were  restored  to  good  stand- 
ing, whereupon  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Eng- 
land south  of  the  Trent  died.  With  this 
and  the  final  disappearance  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  all  England,  the  way  was  clear  for 
the  concentration  of  efforts  of  members  of 
the  original  and  of  the  seceding  Grand 
Lodges  looking  to  reunion.  Negotiations 
to  that  end  were  continued  over  a  series  of 
years,  and  resulted,  in  1813,  as  pointed  out, 
in  a  United  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  since 
which  time  the  Craft  in  the  United  King- 
dom has  been  undisturbed  by  schism  or 
other  serious  dissension.  It  is  of  interest 
to  American  Freemasons  to  note  that  the 
expression  "York  Rite  Masons  "  has  little 
or  no  basis;  that  it  is,  in  fact,  a  misnomer. 
There  was  and  is  no  York  Masonic  rite,  and 
the  symbolic  Freemasonry  which  the  world 
knows  did  not  come  from  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  all  England,  founded  at  Yoi'k  in  1725, 
but  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England, 
founded  at  London  in  1717.  The  York 
Grand  Lodge  outlived  its  several  subordi- 
nate Lodges,  and  died  twenty  years  before 
the  union  of  the  two  great  English  Grand 
Lodges  from  which  the  world  received  An- 
cient Craft  Masonry.  The  expression  '*  An- 
cient York  Masons"  is  probably  derived 
from  Laurence  Dermott's  "  Ahiman  Re- 
zon," which  was  addressed  to  "  the  Ancient 


lod.  Ter-y 


8.  Africa.  .i^^__ 

B&ham&s. 

Greece. 

Straits  Settlements. 

So,  Australia. 

Japan. 

Liberia. 

Borneo. 

and  others. 


Explanatory. 
The  first  Masouic  Lodge  in  France  had 
an  English  warrant,  as  did  the  first  Lodge 
in  Ireland,  in  Scotland,  Spain,  Germany, 
etc.  The  charter  of  the  first  Lodge  in 
Sweden  came  from  France,  that  of  the  first 
in  New  South  Wales,  from  Ireland,  first 
in  Florida,  from  Spain,  etc. 


GRAPHIC    CHART,    SHOWING    THE    SPREAD    OF    FREEMASONRY,    BEGINNING 

IN  1725,  FROM   ENGLAND   TO   SOME  OF  THE  MORE  IMPORTANT 

COUNTRIES,     STATES,     COLONIES,     AND     PROV- 

INCES  THROUGHOUT    THE  WORLD. 


FREEMASONRY 


25 


York  Masons  in  England."  The  Free- 
masonry of  the  English  schismatics,  or  An- 
cients, was  more  firmly  established  in  Penn- 
sylvania than  in  any  other  of  the  American 
colonies,  where  that  jieculiar  type  remains 
without  change  or  elaboration,  a  curiosity  to 
visiting  brethren.  In  Pennsylvania,  natur- 
ally, much  was  formerly  heard  of  ''  Ancient 
York  Masons,"  and  for  that  reason  the  ex- 
pression acquired  vogue.  English  Free- 
masonry, consisting  of  the  three  symbolic 
degrees,  "  including  the  Holy  Royal  Arch," 
forms  the  English,  not  the  Y^ork  rite.  The 
Grand  Lodge  of  all  England  (Y^ork),  like 
the  rival  London  Grand  Lodges,  conferred 
not  only  the  Royal  Arch  degree,  but  that  of 
Knight  Templar,  as  well  as  detached  cere- 
monials. 

With  English  commerce  and  the  British 
army,  navy,  and  diplomatic  service  furnish- 
ing currents  of  communication  between  Eng- 
land and  almost  every  civilized  community, 
it  was  not  strange,  when  the  jiopularity  of 
Freemasonry  in  England  between  1823  and 
1840  is  considered,  that  the  Fraternity 
spread  rapidly  to  almost  every  quarter  of  the 
world.  The  dates,  locations,  and  origin  of 
first  Masonic  Lodges  in  more  important  coun- 
tries, states,  and  provinces,  given  in  chrono- 
logical order,  enable  one  to  trace  its  extension. 


FIRST    MASONIC   LODOKS.         LOCATION'.  CHARTEllED   PROM. 

172.T  France Paris Eni;laiul. 

17'.iG  Irt'latid Cork England. 

1727  Scotland Edinburgh England. 

1728  Spain Madrid England. 

1730  (iermany Ilambuig..  England. 

Pfnns.vlvania Pliiladclpliia England. 

India Calcutta England. 

1731  Notherlands Uaguc England. 

Hus.><ia St.  Poteri-burg.    . . .  iMigland. 

1733  Ma.ssachusetts Boston England. 

1735  Ncw^llampghire Portsnioutli Massachusetts. 

Portugal Lisbon England. 

Norway  and  Sweden. Stockholm France. 

Italy Rome England. 

Georgia Savannah England. 

South  Carolina Charleston England. 

1736  Switzerland (Jcneva England. 

I'oland Warsaw ICngland. 

1737  .Moiitserrat England. 

17:^8  Martinique France. 

1739  Jamaica Kingston England. 

Antigua England. 

St.  Christopher England. 

1740  Prussia Charlottenburg (ierniany. 

Malta Valetta .'. Enghuul. 

Barl)adoe8 England. 

1742  Austria Vienna England. 

1743  Denmark Copenhagen (rermany. 

1747  St.  Eustatius Prance. 

Transviuil Pretoria England. 

1748  Turkey Constantinople England. 

1749  Hayti Sau  DoiuiDgo France. 


FIRST   MASONIC  LODGES.       LOCATION.  CHARTERED    FROM. 

749  Rhode  Island New|)ort Massachusetts. 

750  Connecticut New  Haven Massachusetts. 

Marj;land Baltimore MassachuBetta. 

7.53  V^irginia York  town England. 

7.")4  New  York New  York lingland. 

North  Carolina Wilmington England. 

7.'>5  French  (iuiana Cayenne F'raiice. 

7.")7  Curayoa Holland. 

7W  Virgin  Islands England. 

Hungary Presburg (Jermany. 

701  Bermudas England. 

New  Jersey Newark New  York. 

762  Dominion  of  Canada. Quebec Massachusetts. 

Maine Porilaiul Massacliusette. 

763  Nicaragua Mosiiiiito  Shore Englan(i. 

Honduras St  (Jeorge's  (^uay  .  England. 

764  Grenada Fort  Royal Engl.  &  France, 

765  Sumatra Bencoolen England. 

Delaware Cantwell's  Bridge  .  Pennsylvania. 

7(!()  Guadeloupe France. 

7ii7  China Canton, Hong KongEngland. 

7i;8  China Cochin France. 

Florida St.  Augustine Scotland. 

769  Java Batavia Holland. 

Dutch  Guiana Paramaibo Holland. 

771  Ceylon Colombo Holland. 

British  Guiana (ieorgetown England. 

772  South  Africa Cape  Town England. 

773  Dominica Roseau England. 

781  Vermont Springfield Massachusetts. 

783  Ohio Marietta A  N.  Y.  Army  L. 

District  Columbia  . .  .Alexandria Pennsylvania. 

784  St.  Lucia France. 

78.5  Bahamas England. 

788  Kentucky Lexington Virginia. 

792  St.  Thomas Pennsylvania. 

793  Louisiana New  Orleans 

794  Michigan Detroit Canada. 

796  Ten nessee Nashville North  Carolina. 

797  St.  Bartholomew Sweden. 

798  Trinidad Port  D'Espagne  . .  .Pennsylvania. 

800  St.  Martin France. 

801  Mississippi Natcliez Kentucky. 

8—  Venezuela Caracas Spain. 

802  EgyiJt Alexandria France. 

804  Cuba Havana Pennsylvania. 

805  Illinois Kaskaskia Pennsylvania. 

806  St.  Vincent Ireland. 

807  Missouri St.  (ienevieve Pennsylvania. 

Indiana Vincennes  Kentucky. 

Peru Lima France. 

809  Grei'ce Corfu England. 

Straits  Settlements.  .Penang England. 

810  Mexico City  of  Mexico Spain. 

811  Alabama  Iluntsville Kentucky. 

815  Brazil  Rio  de  Janeiro  . . .  France. 

816  New  South  Wales. .  .Sydney Ireland. 

Arkansas Post  of  Arkansas. .  Pennsylvania. 

823  Tasmania Ilobart  Town  Ireland. 

824  Mexico  (revival) City  of  Mexico Pennsylvania. 

Wisconsin Green  Bay New  York. 

825  Argentine  Republic  .Buenos  Ayres Pennsylvania. 

832  Uruguay Montevideo Pennsylvania. 

Algeria  Algiers France. 

8.33  U.  S.  Colombia Cartha<'ena Spain. 

834  South  Australia Adelaide England. 

Society  Islands Tahiti  France. 

835  Texas   Brazoria Louisiana. 

840  Chili   Valparaiso France. 

841  Victoria Mell)ourne England. 

842  West  Australia Perth England. 

Iowa  Montrose Illinois. 

843  New  Zealand  Akaroa France. 

848  California Sacramento Dist.  Columbia. 

849  Minnesota St.  Paul   Ohio. 

850  Oregon Oregon  City  California. 

Sandwich  Islands  . . .  llonoUihi  ." France  and  Cal. 

Marquesas Nukahiva France. 

851  New  Mexico Santa  V6   Missouri. 

8.52  Washington (Jlympia Oregon. 

8.54  Kansas Wyandotte   Missouri. 

855  Nebraska ." Illinois. 

Indian  Territory.   . .  .Muscogee Arkansas. 

8."7  Ecuador (iuavaquil Peru. 

859  Roumania Bucharest France. 

Queensland Brisl)ane England. 

860  Porto  Rico Mayaguez   Cuba. 

Tunis Tunis France. 

8()1  Colorado (Jolden  City Nebraska. 

862  Nevada Carson  City California. 

Dakota Yankton Iowa. 

1863  Montana Baunock Nebraska. 


26 


FREEMASONRY 


FIBST  MASOKIC  LODGES.       LOCATION.  CHABTERED  PROM. 

1863  Idaho    Idaho  City Oregon. 

West  Virginia  Sep.  f r.  Va. 

1864  New  Caleaonia  Noumea  France. 

1866  Japan Yeddo England. 

I'tiUi Salt  Lake  City Nevada. 

Arizona   Prescott California. 

1867  .Morocco Tanojiers France. 

Lilieria Monrovia England. 

Costa  Kica San  Jose   Spain. 

1868  Wyoming Cheyenne Colorado. 

1875  Fiji  Islands Levuka Scotland. 

Bolivia Peru. 

187-  Servia  Belgrade Italy. 

1880  Philippine  Islands  ..Manila  Spain. 

1881  I'araguay Asuncion Brazil. 

Uaatemala Carthagena U.  S.  Colombia. 

1882  San  Sal vator Costa  Rica. 

188:J  Celebes  Islands Macassar Ilolland. 

1885  Borneo^ Elopuro  England. 

An  accompanying  chart  makes  plain  the 
importance  of  the  work  done  by  the  earlier 
English  Grand  Lodges  and  by  the  United 
Grand  Lodge  of  England  in  propagating 
Freemasonry.  The  English  Kite  was  car- 
ried to  France  in  1725,  where  it  became 
quite  as  popular  as  in  England  ;  to  Ireland 
in  1726,  and  to  Scotland  in  1727.  In  1727  it 
was  also  taken  to  Spain ;  to  Germany,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  to  India  in  1730  ;  to  the  Neth- 
erlands and  to  Russia  in  1731 ;  to  Massa- 
chusetts in  1733  ;  and  to  Portugal,  Nor- 
way, Sweden,  Italy,  and  Georgia  in  1735  ;  so 
that  within  ten  years  Masonic  Lodges  had 
been  established  throughout  the  United 
Kingdom,  at  nearly  all  the  larger  conti- 
nental cities,  at  Calcutta,  India,  and  at 
Philadelphia,  Boston,  Charleston,  Wil- 
mington, N.C.,  and  at  Savannah,  in  the 
American  colonies.  All  this  was  the  result 
of  the  activity  of  the  Grand  Lodoe  of  Enaf- 
land,  with_  the  exception  of  the  Lodge  at 
Stockholm,  which  was  instituted  by  French 
Freemasons.  Eeference  to  the  chart  shows 
that  next  to  English  Grand  Lodges, 
French  Grand  bodies  were  most  active  in 
creating  Lodges  abroad ;  after  which,  in 
the  order  named,  rank  parent  bodies  in 
Pennsylvania,  Massachusetts,  Virginia,  Ire- 
land, Spain,  the  Netherlands,  and  Ger- 
many. Prior  to  the  present  century,  the 
American  Masonic  doctrine  of  exclusive 
territorial  jurisdiction  was  practically  un- 
known ;  and  while  an  accompanying  chart 
indicates  the  sources  of  only  the  first  Ma- 
sonic Lodges,  subsequent  Lodges  were  fre- 
quently of  another  allegiance.     The  Grand 


Lodge  of  Ireland  is  responsible  for  the  first 
Lodges  in  New  South  Wales,  St.  Vincent, 
and  Tasmania,  but  has  chartered  many 
other  Lodges  in  foreign  lauds  and  in  Brit- 
ish colonics,  where  some  other  Grand  Body 
had  preceded  them  ;  and  the  like  is  true  of 
Grand  Lodges  of  England,  France,  Spain, 
Ilolland,  and  Pennsylvania.  A  dispute  as 
to  whether  the  first  Masonic  Lodge  in  what 
is  now  the  United  States  was  opened  at 
Philadelphia  or  at  Boston  continued  for 
many  years,  but  the  weight  of  evidence  is 
declared,  by  those  who  are  considered 
authorities,  to  favor  Philadelphia.  The 
first  Lodge  at  Philadelphia,  1730-31,  is 
believed  to  have  been  a  voluntary  one,  as 
there  is  no  record  of  its  having  been  char- 
tered until  a  year  or  two  later.  It  was  in 
the  same  year,  1730,  that  Daniel  Coxe  of 
New  Jersey  was  appointed  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Penn- 
sylvania, but  he  is  not  known  to  have  ever 
exercised  his  authority  as  such.  The  first 
Philadel^jhia  Lodge  assumed  the  preroga- 
tives of  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  1732,  and  in  1734  Benjamin 
Franklin  was  elected  Provincial  Grand  Mas- 
ter, to  which  office  he  was  also  appointed  in 
1849  by  Thomas  Oxnard  of  Boston,  Provin- 
cial Grand  Master  of  all  North  America. 
In  17G4  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancients,  in 
London,  chartered  a  Lodge  in  Philadelphia 
and  organized  a  rival  Grand  Lodge,  which 
was  evidently  possessed  of  more  active 
members  than  the  older  Pennsylvania  Grand 
body,  which  discontinued  its  labors  about 
1793.  The  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of 
Pennsylvania,  formed  by  the  Ancients,  was 
responsible  for  the  activity  shown  by  Free- 
masons of  that  colony  in  establishing 
Lodges,  not  only  in  the  colonies  (later  the 
United  States),  but  in  other  parts  of  the 
world,  and  continues  the  governing  body  of 
the  Craft  in  Pennsylvania  to  this  day.  In 
1786,  following  like  action  in  Massachu- 
setts, it  declared  itself  an  independent  and 
sovereign  Grand  Lodge.  At  Boston,  in 
1733,  Henry  Price,  claiming  authority  from 


FREEMASONRY 


27 


the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  as  Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  New  England,  opened  a 
Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  and,  witii  the  aid 
of  ten  brethren,  initiated  eight  candidates. 
This  Lodge  and  the  Philadelpliia  Lodge, 
which  initiated  Benjamin  Franklin  in  1734 
and  subsequently  met  as  a  Grand  Lodge, 
became  the  Mother  Grand  Lodges  of 
America.  The  Price,  or  St.  John's,  Grand 
Lodge  had  smooth  sailing  until  1752,  when 
several  brethren  in  Boston  instituted  St. 
Andrew's  Lodge,  according  to  the  old 
usage,  without  a  warrant.  This  was  op- 
posed b}'  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge,  and  re- 
sulted in  a  schism  which  lasted  forty  years. 
Li  1760  St.  Andrew's  received  a  charter 
from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland,  which 
widened  the  breach.  In  1769  it  united 
with  several  Ancient  military  Lodges  in 
forming  ^Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge,  with 
Joseph  Warren  as ''Grand  Master  of  Ma- 
sons in  Boston,  New  England,  and  Within 
One  Hundred  Miles  of  the  Same."  Li 
1773  Joseph  Warren  was  appointed,  by  the 
Grand  Master  of  Scotland,  Grand  Master 
of  Masons  for  the  Continent  of  America. 
The  death  of  Warren,  at  Bunker  Hill, 
resulted  in  the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge 
declaring  its  independence  and  sovereignty, 
thus  becoming  the  first  independent  Grand 
Lodge  of  Masons  in  America.  In  1792  the 
Grand  Lodge  for  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts  was  formed  by  the  union  of 
St.  John's  and  the  Massachusetts  Grand 
Lodges,  since  which  time  the  history  of 
the  Craft  in  that  State  has  not  been 
marked  by  dissension.  (See  Freemasonry 
among  the  Negroes.)  Successors  to  Dan- 
iel Coxe,  as  Provincial  Grand  Master 
for  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  did  noth- 
ing in  an  official  capacity,  so  far  as 
has  been  learned,  except  to  induct  their 
successors  into  office,  until  1754,  or  1757, 
when  a  subordinate  Lodge  was  established 
in  New  York  city.  Tliis  was  about  twenty 
years  after  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England 
had  granted  petitions  for  liodges  at  Savan- 
nah,  Ga.,    Charleston,    S.  C,  and  at  Wil- 


mington, N.  C.  A  schismatic  Grand  Lodge 
of  New  York  ap^ieared  in  Albany  in  1823, 
the  outgrowth  of  opposition  to  holding  the 
Grand  Lodge  exclusively  at  New  York  city. 
Four  years  later,  in  1827,  the  city  and 
country  Grand  Lodges  compromised  their 
differences  and  united.  H.  C.  Atwood  and 
others  were  expelled  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  New  York  in  1837,  for  violation  of  regu- 
lations regarding  public  parades,  which 
led  to  the  formation  of  a  St.  John's  Grand 
Lodge,  all  the  members  of  which  were 
declared  clandestine,  and  remained  so 
until  the  union  of  1850.  A  number  of 
other  Lodges  seceded  from  the  regular 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  in  1849,  and 
formed  a  third,  known  as  the  Phillip's 
Grand  Lodge.  This  schism  was  the  out- 
come of  a  disj)ute  as  to  the  right  of  Past 
Masters  to  membership  in  the  Grand 
Lodge.  The  matter  was  amicably  adjusted 
in  1858,  since  which  time  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  New  York  has  not  suffered  from  dissen- 
sion. South  Carolina,  like  Pennsylvania, 
suffered  from  the  rivalry  between  the 
Grand  Lodges  at  London,  when,  in  1787, 
an  Ancient  Grand  Lodge  was  established  at 
Charleston.  The  breach  continued  until 
1808,  when  the  opposing  bodies  united, 
only  to  separate  again  in  1809.  It  was  not 
until  1817,  four  years  after  the  reunion  of 
the  Ancients  and  Moderns  in  England, 
that  the  warring  South  Caroliiui  bodies 
finally  healed  their  differences.  In  Georgia, 
where  Freemasonry  was  also  introduced 
direct  from  England,  there  were  rival 
Grand  Lodges  between  1827  and  1839, 
owing  to  a  controversy  growing  out  of  t4ie 
change  of  the  capital  of  the  State. 

Russia  is  the  only  country  in  tbe  world 
in  which  Masonic  Lodges  are  suppressed. 
Austrian  prohibition  of  Masonic  gatherings 
is  not  enforced  in  Hungary  and  only  moder- 
ately in  Vienna.  Spanish  opposition  to  the 
Craft  has  long  since  ceased  to  be  active. 
Representatives  of  the  reigning  family,  or 
of  the  government,  in  every  European 
country  exce])t  Russia,  Austria,  Belgium, 


28 


FREEMASONRY 


and  Turkey  are  members  of  the  Fraternity. 
The  removal  of  the  name  of  Deity  from  its 
lectures  by  the  Grand  Orient  of  France 
more  than  twenty  years  ago,  and  of  the 
Holy  Bible  from  its  altars,  was  followed  by 
the  refusal  of  English-speaking  and  other 
Grand  Lodges  to  recognize  members  of 
Lodges  chartered  by  the  Grand  Orient  of 
France.  France,  therefore,  is  outside  of  the 
^lasonic  family. 

In  the  United  Kingdom,  during  the 
eighteenth  century,  the  adoption  of 
'' higher ''  or  additional  Masonic  degrees 
was  limited  to  the  Royal  Arch,  Knight 
Templar,  and  Mark  Master  Mason  ;  but  in 
France,  very  soon  after  Freemasonry  was 
introduced  there,  many  new  degrees  and 
rites  made  their  appearance,  in  peddling 
which  their  inventors  did  a  thriving  busi- 
ness. Between  1725  and  1775  hundreds  of 
what  were  called  higher  Masonic  degrees 
were  evolved  and  hawked  over  the  Conti- 
nent. Some  were  meritorious,  but  many 
soon  fell  into  obscurity,  while  a  few  still 
exist  in  collections  of  curious  outgrowths 
of  that  character.  In  1754,  at  Paris,  the 
Chevalier  Bonneville  brought  together  and 
systematized  twenty-five  of  the  older  and 
better  productions  among  these  high 
grades,  as  the  Rite  of  Perfection,  under 
the  title,  '^  ChaiJter  of  Clermont."  Some 
of  them  were  called  Scottish  because  their 
legends  traced  their  origin  to  Scotland. 
It  would  have  risked  exposure  to  attribute 
them  to  English  ingenuity.  They  might 
have  been  given  an  Irish  origin,  because 
their  authors  had  to  go  as  far  as  possible 
from  England  and  France.  But  Ireland 
evidently  did  not  suit  the  purpose,  and 
so  the  degrees  were  called  Ecossais  or 
Scotch,  and  were  declared  to  have  been 
conferred  for  many  years  in  the  north  of 
Scotland.  This,  too,  accounts  for  the  al- 
leged connection  of  the  partisans  of  the 
Stuarts  with  earlier  Ecossais  Freemasonry, 
some  of  its  traditions  stating  that  they  in- 
troduced the  degrees  into  France  or  were 
responsible  for  their  creation.     In  1758  a 


Council  of  Emperors  of  the  East  and 
West  was  organized  at  Paris,  with  a  system 
of  twenty-five  degrees,  and,  as  stated  by 
McClenachan,  "  in  some  way  became  pos- 
sessed "  of  the  Rite  of  Perfection,  Chapter 
of  Clermont,  "and  became  its  successor/' 
In  1761  the  Council  of  Emperors  of  the 
East  and  West  granted  a  patent  to  Stephen 
Morin  to  introduce  this  rite  (of  twenty-five 
degrees)  into  the  West  Indies,  after  which, 
in  1772,  it  united  with  a  faction  of  the 
Grand  Orient  (which  controlled  the  first 
three  degrees  of  Freemasonry  in  France), 
known  as  the  "  Old  Grand  Lodge,"  which 
factional  Grand  Lodge  died  four  months 
later.  In  1779,  or  seven  years  later,  the 
Grand  Orient  officially  declared  its  j)ower 
limited  to  the  three  symbolic  degrees,  and 
that  it  had  no  official  knowledge  of  so- 
called  high  grades.  In  1786  the  Grand 
Orient  organized  and  promulgated  the 
French  rite  of  seven  degrees,  adding  to 
the  three  symbolic  degrees  four  from  the 
abundant  material  floating  about  the  Con- 
tinent. The  importance  of  this  is  to  show 
that  long  prior  to  the  French  Revolution 
the  Grand  Orient  of  France  neither  230S- 
sessed  nor  claimed  to  control  the  Rite  of 
Perfection  of  twenty-five  degrees  which 
appeared  in  1754  as  a  system  under  the  title 
"  Chapter  of  Clermont,"  and  disappeared 
with  the  death  of  the  factional  or  *''01d 
Grand  Lodge."  In  the  Rite  of  Perfection, 
Chapter  of  Clermont,  one  finds  the  origin 
of  the  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Rite, 
thirty-three  degrees,  which  was  created 
and  first  ajDpeared  at  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  in  1801.  Of  this  rite,  Gould 
(F.  R.),  in  his  '^History  of  Freemasonry" 
(vol.  iii.,  page  273),  says  :  "  Although  one 
of  the  youngest  of  the  Masonic  rites,  it  is 
at  this  day  (1886)  the  most  j^opular  and  the 
most  extensively  diffused.  Supreme  Coun- 
cils or  governing  bodies  of  the  rite  are  to 
be  found  in  almost  every  civilized  country 
of  the  world,  and  in  many  of  them  it  is  the 
only  Masonic  obedience."  The  three  sym- 
bolic   degrees     of     ancient     Freemasonry 


FREEMASONRY 


29 


underlie  all  Masonic  systems  or  rites,  and 
upon  that  fact  is  based  the  claim  of  the 
universality  of  Freemasonry.  The  Eng- 
lish Rite  alone  confines  itself  to  the  three 
degrees  of  Entered  Apprentice,  Fellow- 
craft,  and  Master  Mason,  "'including  the 
Holy  Eoyal  Arch,"  but  upon  it  have  been 
erected  the  many  Masonic  systems  or  rites 
which  daring  the  past  one  hundred  and 
sixty  years  have  attracted  the  interest  of 
the  Craft. 

Students  will  find  extended  lists  of  the 
more  important  Masonic  rites  or  systems  of 
degrees,  living  and  dead,  in  the  works  of 
many  Masonic  historians ;  but  nowhere,  so 
far  as  learned,  has  there  been  given  a  brief, 
chronological  account  of  them  and  their 
characteristics  so  as  to  enable  the  young 
craftsman  to  distinguish  between  those 
which  have  passed  away  and  those  which 
are  still  practised.  There  are  ten  Masonic 
rites  in  use  to-day.  Two  of  them,  the  Eng- 
lish, which  includes  the  first  three  or  sym- 
bolic degrees,  and  together  with  the  Royal 
Arch  forms  the  basis  of  all  systems  or  rites, 
and  the  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of 
thirty-three  degrees,  are  ranked  as  univer- 
sal. The  American  Rite  is  next  in  impor- 
tance, and  is  j^ractised  in  the  United  States 
and  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  where  are 
to  be  found  three-fourths  of  all  the  Free- 
masons in  the  world.  The  Rite  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  Three  Globes,  Ger- 
many, is  third  in  importance,  after  which 
follow  the  French  Rite,  the  Swedish  Rite, 
or  Rite  of  Zinnendorf,  Schroder's  Rite  (in 
use  by  a  few  German  Lodges),  the  French 
Order  of  the  Temple,  the  Rite  of  Memphis 
(in  Roumania,  Spain,  and  Egypt),  and  the 
Rite  of  Swedenborg. 

1724.  The  English,  erroneously  called 
the  York  Rite,  is  composed  of  the  degrees 
of  Entered  Apprentice,  Fellowcraft,  and 
Master  Mason,  the  three  ancient,  symbolic 
degrees  which  were  practically  perfected 
and  conferred  as  a  system  about  1724,  or 
shortly  after,  to  which  was  formally  ap- 
pended the  Royal  Arch  degree,  in  1813,   at 


the  reunion  of  the  two  English  Grand 
Lodges,  the  change  involving  a  modification 
of  the  degree  of  Master  Mason. 

1777.  The  Rite  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Three  Globes  is  practised  by  more  than  two 
hundred  German  Lodges.  It  consists  of  the 
three  symbolic  degrees  and  seven  others, 
which  are  modifications  of  the  Gernum 
Strict  Observance  Templar  and  various 
Scottish  Rite  grades. 

1777.  The  Swedish  Rite  exists  only  in 
Norway  and  Sweden,  Avhere  it  is  under  the 
patronage  of  royalty.  It  is  a  mixture  of  the 
English  and  French  Rites,  of  the  Templar- 
ism  of  the  Rite  of  Strict  Observance,  and  of 
Rosicrucianism. 

1783.  The  Rite  of  Swedenborg  is  pre- 
served in  a  few  French  Lodges.  It  is 
founded  on  Peruetty's  Rite  of  Avignon, 
which  appeared  in  France  in  1769.  It  in- 
volves, like  Pernetty's  system,  much  of  the 
mysticism  of  Swedenborg,  who,  by  the  way, 
was  not  a  Freemason. 

1786.  The  French,  or  Modern  Rite,  as 
exi:)lained,  consists  of  the  English  system, 
upon  which  are  superimposed  four  degrees 
formed  from  some  of  the  many  unsystema- 
tized ceremonials  practised  on  the  Continent 
of  Europe  in  the  latter  half  of  tlie  last  cen- 
tury. 

1801.  Schroder's  Rite  is  still  cultivated 
by  a  few  German  Lodges,  notably  at  Ham- 
burg. It  is  confined  to  the  three  ancient 
craft  degrees  and  a  Select  Historical  Union 
of  Master  Masons  for  the  study  of  the  iihi-' 
losophy  of  Freemasonry. 

1801.  The  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish 
Rite,  referred  to  elsewhere. 

1810.  The  American  Rite,  substantially 
as  it  exists  to-day,  may  be  said  to  date  from 
the  first  decade  of  the  present  century.  It 
is  referred  to  under  a  separate  liead. 

1839.  The  Rite  of  Memphis,  youngest  of 
living  Masonic  systems,  is  described  under 
that  title. 

There  are  more  than  1,400,000  active 
Freemasons  in  the  world,  all  of  whom,  of 
course,   are    practically  familiar  with    the 


30 


FREEMASONRY 


three  degrees  of  the  English  Kite.  Of  the 
total,  probably  125,000  are  in  possession  of 
the  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  and 
118,000  of  the  American  Rite  us  conferred 
in  Lodges,  Chapters  (Councils),  and  Com- 
manderies.  There  are  27,000  members  of 
the  French  Rite,  4,000  of  the  Swedish  Rite, 
20,000  of  the  Rite  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
the  Three  Globes  at  Berlin,  but  only  a  very 
few  who  practise  Schroder's  Rite,  the  Rite 
of  Swedenborg,  or  the  French  Order  of  the 
Temple. 

The  more  important  among  extinct 
Masonic  Rites  are  twenty-two  in  number, 
thirteen  of  which  appeared  in  France,  six 
in  Germany,  and  one  each  in  England, 
Belgium,  and  Italy. 

1748.  Rite  of  Vielle  Bru,  France,  an  in- 
vention of  the  adherents  of  the  Stuarts 
while  in  exile.  The  Grand  Orient  of  France 
killed  it  by  refusing  it  recognition. 

1754.  Rite  of  Perfection,  Paris,  France; 
already  referred  to. 

1754.  Von  Hund's  Rite  of  Strict  Observ- 
ance, Germany,  was  based  on  the  Templar 
theory  of  the  origin  of  Freemasonry,  the 
legend  of  which  taught  that  every  Free- 
mason is  a  Knight  Templar.  This  Rite, 
whicli  was  drawn  from  the  earlier  French 
Scottish  Templar  degrees,  which  ultimately 
were  formed  into  the  Rite  of  Perfection, 
into  which  Von  Hund  was  received  in 
Paris,  exercised  considerable  influence  over 
succeeding  systems. 

1758.  Emperors  of  the  East  and  West ; 
already  referred  to. 

1765.  The  Rite  of  Elected  Cohens 
(Priests),  France,  was  based  on  the  mysti- 
cism of  the  Jewish  Kabbala. 

1766.  The  Rite  of  the  Blazing  Star  re- 
vived the  legends  and  ceremonials  of  chiv- 
alry. 

1767.  Rite  of  Chastenier,  France,  theo- 
sophical  and  mystical,  was  introduced  into 
England,  but  did  not  live  long. 

1769.  Pernetty's  Rite  of  Avignon,  France, 
was  a  revel  in  mysticism.  Pernetty  is  said 
to  have  been  the  author  of  the  degree  of  the 


Knight  of  the  Sun,  now  the  twenty-eighth 
of  the  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Rite. 
His  Rite  of  Avignon  had  great  influence  on 
several  which  followed  it. 

1770.  Rite  of  Martinism,  France,  a  com- 
bination of  Scottish  degrees  with  the  specu- 
lations of  the  mystics. 

1772.  Reformed  Rite,  a  German  modifica- 
tion of  the  Rite  of  Strict  Observance. 

1773.  Rite  of  Philalethes,  France,  based 
on  the  Rite  of  Martinism.  It  lived  about 
twenty  years. 

1775.  The  Philosophic  Scotch  Rite, 
France,  was  a  revival  of  Pernetty's  Rite  of 
Avignon,  combined  with  Rosicrucianism 
and  suggestions  from  the  Pythagoreans. 

1776.  The  Rite  of  the  Elect  of  Truth, 
France,  was  jihilosophical. 

1777.  The  Egyptian  Rite,  of  Cagliostro, 
was  the  work  of  that  prince  of  adventurers 
and  impostors.  Cagliostro  was  made  a  Free- 
mason in  London  in  1776,  and  immediately 
set  to  work  to  form  a  ''  Masonic  ''  system  of 
his  own,  into  which  he  introduced  the  search 
for  the  philosopher's  stone,  and  physical  and 
moral  regeneration.  He  traveled  through 
Europe,  establishing  Lodges  and  selling  de- 
grees, often  to  princes,  prelates,  and  philo- 
sophers. After  a  career  of  monumental 
effronter}^  decej^tion,  and  dishonesty,  he 
was  sentenced  to  death  in  1789  at  Rome  by 
the  Holy  Inquisition,  and  his  manuscript, 
"Maconnerie  Egyptienne,"  was  publicly 
burned.  The  Pope  commuted  his  sentence 
to  imprisonment  for  life.  He  died  in  prison 
in  1795. 

1780.  The  Primitive  Rite  of  Philadelphes 
(Primitive  Rite  of  Narbonne)  was  founded 
at  Narbonne,  France,  by  pretended  "  Supe- 
riors of  the  Order  of  Free  and  Accejjted 
Masons."  Its  degrees  were  divided  into 
three  classes,  in  which  were  treated  the  oc- 
cult sciences  and  the  rehabilitation  and  re- 
integration of  man  in  his  primitive  rank 
and  prerogatives. 

1780.  The  Rite  of  Brothers  of  Asia,  Ger- 
man, was  composed  of  a  mixture  of  religious 
faiths,  science,  and  the  reveries  of  the  mystics. 


,x\ 


CP^ 


o5^E>. 


"/> 


Yr^      \<^^ 


^"-1^. 


'^'>"^^. 


^ 


ANCIEHT 
ACCEPTED 
SCOTTISH  RITE 

J25.000. 


THE    AREA   OF  THE 


ENTIRE     CIRCLE      REP- 


RESENTS       THE        1.400.000 


AFFILIATED       MASTER       MA- 


SONS IN  THE  WORLD,  MEM- 


BERS   OF    THE     ENGLISH    (OR    "YORK")     RITE.       OF    THIS 


TOTAL  ONLY  128^000   HAVE    RECEIVED  THE   SCOTTISH 


RITE,    118.0OO    THE    AMERICAN    RITE,   27.000    THE 


FRENCH  RITE.  AND  ABOUT  lO.OOO  OTHER 


RITES. 


CHART   SHOWING  THE  RELATIVE  MEMBERSHIP  OF  LEADING  LIVING  MASONIC  RITES. 


32 


FREEMASONRY 


1T82.  The  Beneficent  Knights  of  the 
Holy  City,  France,  included  some  of  the 
mystical  speculations  for  which  the  last  cen- 
tury was  noted,  and  the  early  Scottish  de- 
gree of  Templarism. 

1783.  Fessler's  Eite,  Germany,  consisted 
of  nine  degrees,  based  on  the  Golden  Eose 
Croix,  the  Eite  of  Strict  Observance,  and 
the  Eite  of  Perfection.  It  professed  to  be 
abstrusely  learned. 

1784.  The  Eeformed  Helvetic  Eite,  Ger- 
many, was  a  modification  of  the  Eeformed 
Eite  of  1772,  and  was  used  in  Poland. 

1787.  The  Eite  of  African  Architects  was 
the  successor  of  a  rite  with  a  similar  name, 
1767.  It  appeared  in  Germany  and  was 
patronized  by  Frederick  II.  Its  objects 
were  to  rescue  Freemasonry  from  innovation 
and  to  study  philosophy. 

1805.  The  Eite  of  Mizraim  is  referred  to 
elsewhere. 

1818.  Primitive  Scottish  Eite,  thirty-three 
degrees,  Belgium,  was  based  on  the  Eites  of 
Perfection  and  Strict  Observance,  and  fol- 
lowed the  Adonhiramite  theory  as  to  the 
principal  officers  at  the  building  of  King 
Solomon's  Temple,  which  characterized  so 
many  of  the  Continental  rites  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  last  century,  and  still  has  an  in- 
fluence in  some  of  the  minor  living  rites. 
It  never  Avent  beyond  the  city  of  its  birth. 

Freemasonry  in  the  eighteenth  century 
was  characterized  by  its  rapid  spread  from 
England  throughout  the  world,  by  the  avid- 
ity with  which  able  and  learned  men  inter- 
ested themselves  in  it,  in  many  instances 
only  to  extend,  elaborate,  or  embroider  its 
ritual  and  ceremonials,  and  by  the  schism 
in  England  which  lasted  from  1751  to  1813. 
It  met  with  the  antagonism  of  pope  and 
pamphleteer,  and  the  exiled  Stuarts  vainly 
sought  to  use  it  in  an  effort  to  regain  the 
English  throne.  The  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows' made  its  appearance  in  London  be- 
fore 1740,  a  variety  of  democratized  Free- 
masonry, and  was  followed  by  the  Druids 
in  1760  and  by  the  Foresters  in  1780,  types 
of   the    sincerest   form    of    flattery,    when 


judged  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Free- 
mason of  that  day.  The  Orange  Institution 
appeared  at  the  close  of  the  last  century,  an 
open  imitator  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity  so 
far  as  some  of  its  forms  and  ceremonies  are 
concerned.  American  Provincial  Grand 
Lodges  after  the  close  of  the  War  of  the 
Eevolution  declared  their  independence  of 
English  mother  Grand  Lodges,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  century  an  effort  was  made  to 
form  a  Supreme  Grand  Lodge  of  the  United 
States  with  Washington  as  Supreme  Grand 
Master.  Washington's  death  prevented  the 
success  of  the  plan,  and  when  the  subject 
was  brought  up  again  in  1822,  it  was  re- 
ceived with  less  favor.  Between  1827  and 
1840  the  Craft  suffered  from  political  per- 
secution and  unreasoning  warfare  which 
grew  out  of  the  "  Morgan  excitement ; '''  but 
beginning  in  1843,  it  grew  and  prospered 
beyond  all  previous  records  until  its  growth 
was  checked  by  the  Civil  War.  Since  1865 
its  popularity  and  prosperity  in  the  United 
States,  Canada,  Great  Britain,  the  British 
colonies,  and  elsewhere  throughout  the  world 
have  been  beyond  all  precedent. 

Tlie  American  Eite. — Practised  only  in 
the  L^nited  States  of  America  and  the  Do- 
minion of  Canada.  It  adds  to  the  three 
symbolic  degrees  of  the  English  Eite,  first, 
the  degrees  of  Mark  Master,  Past  Master, 
Most  Excellent  Master,  and  Eoyal  Arch  Ma- 
son, which  are  conferred  in  Eoyal  Arch 
Chapters  federated  into  Grand  Chapters, 
and  a  General  Grand  Chapter  of  tlie  United 
States  of  America;  second,  the  degrees  of 
Eoyal  Master,  Select  Master,  and  of  Super- 
Excellent  Master,  conferred  in  Councils  of 
Eoyal  and  Select  Masters,  which  have  a  sys- 
tem of  state  and  general  government  similar 
to  that  of  Eoyal  Arch  Chapters;  and,  third. 
Companion  of  the  Illustrious  Order  of  the 
Eed  Cross,  Knight  Templar,  and  Knight  of 
St.  John  and  Malta,  under  the  authority  of 
chartered  Commanderies  of  Knights  Tem- 
plars. There  are  no  very  marked  differ- 
ences between  the  Entered  Apprentice  and 
Fellowcraft  degrees    as    conferred    in   the 


FREEMASONRY 


33 


United  States  and  in  England;  but  while 
the  peculiarity  which  marks  the  third  de- 
gree is  met  w'itli  in  every  Masonic  Lodge, 
American  Lodges  have  taken  marked  liber- 
ties with  it.  Several  so-called  essentials  are 
omitted  altogether,  and  the  one  which 
should  be  universal,  if  any  ])ortion  of  the 
degree  is  to  be,  is  totally  unlike  anything 
communicated  under  that  name  in  many 
foreign  Lodges.  American  Lodges  tend  to 
emphasize  the  dramatic  possibilities  of  the 
Master  Mason  degree,  while  in  England  and 
on  the  Continent  the  greater  portion  of  the 
characteristic  part  of  the  degree  is  commu- 
nicated. The  claim  of  universality  for  the 
English  Rite  rests  on  its  substance  rather 
than  form;  for  certain  "accompanying" 
words,  the  letter  G,  and  a  most  important 
sign  are  far  from  being  universal.  Where 
this  rite  exists,  it  is  recognized  by  Supreme 
Councils  of  the  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish 
Eite,  which  thereupon  begin  their  labors 
with  the  fourth  degree.  In  countries  Avhere 
the  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  pre- 
ceded the  English  Rite,  the  former  presents 
the  three  symbolic  degrees  of  a  genuinely 
universal  type.  In  Germany  and  elsewhere 
on  the  Continent  the  work  in  the  third  de- 
gree has,  in  some  systems  or  localities,  been 
abused  by  the  infusion  of  the  Adonhiramite 
theory  which  made  Adoniram  rather  than 
Hiram  the  conspicuous  figure.  The  growth 
of  this  heresy  in  the  eighteenth  century  was 
due  to  a  confusion  of  philological  and  his- 
torical data  and  to  the  ignorance  of  those 
responsible  for  it.  But  this  alteration,  like 
American  changes  in  the  English  Rite,  has 
become  a  part  of  the  tree  on  which  it 
was  grafted,  and  constitutes  something  in 
the  nature  of  local  color.  The  arrangement 
of  the  Words  in  the  first  and  second  degrees 
was  reversed  by  the  Ancient,  or  schismatic, 
Grand  Lodge  of  England,  in  order  to  de- 
tect visitors  from  the  rival  obedience.  The 
dominance  of  the  Ancient  Grand  Lodge  in 
the  American  colonies  naturally  brought  the 
variation  into  Lodges  here;  but  in  Germany, 
France,  Norway,  and  some  other  countries 


where  Freemasonry  was  introduced  prior  to 
1751,  visiting  American  and  English  Free- 
masons find  a  singular  and,  to  some,  inex- 
plicable reversal  of  what  they  were  taught. 
The  honorary  degree  of  Past  Master  is  con- 
ferred only  on  Master  Masons  who  have  been 
regularly  elected  and  installed  Masters  of 
Lodges.  It  did  not  take  the  form  of  a  de- 
gree until  early  in  the  present  century  in 
the  United  States.  It  was  conferred  on 
actual  Masters  of  Lodges  and  on  Past  Mas- 
ters early  in  the  last  century,  merely  as  a 
ceremonial,  and  in  1744  began  to  be  referred 
to  as  "passing  the  chair."  Its  place  in 
Royal  Arch  Chapters  in  the  L^nited  States 
is  referred  to  hereafter. 

Chapters  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  in  the 
United  States  confer  the  capitular  degrees 
of  Mark  Master,  (virtual)  Past  JMaster,  Most 
Excellent  Master,  and  Royal  Arch  Mason 
upon  such  Master  Masons  as  apply  for  and 
are  elected  to  receive  them.*  This  system, 
culminating  in  the  Royal  Arch,  is  a  purely 
American  arrangement,  and  is  found  only 
in  the  United  States,  the  Dominion  of  Can- 
ada, and  in  the  relatively  few  Chapters  in 
Mexico  and  elsewhere  abroad  chartered 
from  the  United  States.  The  Royal  Arch 
degree  in  England  was  originally  conferred, 
probably  as  early  as  1740,  in  some  of  the 
seceding  Lodges  of  1739  wdiich  united  in 
1751  and  formed  the  Ancient  Grand  Lodge; 
for,  even  in  1740,  twenty-three  years  after 
the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Eng- 
land in  1717,  several  rebellious  Lodges 
claimed  to  have  secrets  in  reference  to  the 
Master's  degree  which  were  unknown  in 
Lodges  loyal  to  the  mother  Grand  Lodge. 
It  must,  therefore,  have  been  in  Lodges 
which  in  1751  formed  the  schismatic  Grand 
Lodge  that  the  Master's  degree  was  muti- 
lated to  form  the  Royal  Arch, because  as  early 
as  1735  all  of  the  original  essentials  of  the 
Master's  degree  remained  intact.  While  gen- 
erally conferred  in  Lodges  as  a  supplement 

*  The  exception  is  in  Pennsylvania,  where  the 
Grand  Chapter  rejects  the  Mark  and  Most  Excellent 
Masters'  degrees. 


34 


FREEMASONRY 


to  the  Master's  degree  for  several  years 
after  the  schism,  Royal  Arch  Chapters  ulti- 
mately came  into  existence,  and  afterward 
a  Supreme  lioyal  Arch  Chapter.  The  An- 
cients announced  the  existence  of  the  Royal 
Arch  degree  in  its  "  Ahiman  Rezon,"  or 
book  of  constitutions,  in  1750,  but  as  late  as 
1758  the  Moderns  denied  all  knowledge  of  it. 
Dunckerly,  the  celebrated  ritualist,  intro- 
duced the  Royal  Arch  degree  to  the  Moderns, 
or  mother  organization  of  modern  Free- 
masonry, in  1770,  by  which  it  was  adopted 
in  1779,  together  with  a  system  of  subordi- 
nate Chapters  afterward  governed  by  a  Su- 
preme Royal  Arch  Chapter.  At  the  union 
of  the  rival  English  Grand  Lodges  in  1813 
the  Royal  Arch  of  the  Ancients  was  made 
supplementary  to  the  degree  of  Master  Ma- 
son, and  in  1817  the  rival  Supreme  Chapters 
united.  From  that  day  to  this  the  English 
Rite  has  conferred  the  Royal  Arch  on  Mas- 
ter Masons  elected  to  receive  it,  in  contrast 
with  the  American  system,  which  requires 
a  Master  Mason  to  first  receive  the  degrees 
of  Mark  Master,  (virtual)  Past  Master,  and 
Most  Excellent  Master,  prior  to  being  '^  ex- 
alted." Before  the  Moderns  adopted  the 
Royal  Arch  degree  the  Ancients  had  been 
conferring  it  only  on  Masters  of  Lodges;  but 
both  the  Moderns  and  Ancients,  in  order  to 
popularize  the  degree,  admitted  during  the 
latter  portion  of  the  eighteenth  century,  not 
only  actual  Past  Masters,  but  those  made  so 
by  dispensation  of  a  Grand  Master  for  that 
purpose.  This  practice  was  brought  to  the 
American  colonies  by  British  army  Lodges 
and  explains  the  existence  in  the  American 
Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  the  degree  of  virtual 
Past  Master. 

The  Mark  Master's,  or  fourth  degree  of 
the  American  Rite,  is  of  undoubted  English 
origin,  and  while  conferred  only  on  Master 
Masons,  forms  a  graceful  appendage  to  the 
degree  of  Fellowcraft.  It  is  based  on  the 
practice  of  ancient  operative  Freemasons 
of  selecting  particular  marks  which  they 
could  no  more  alter  or  change  than  they 
could  their  names,  with  which  they  marked 


their  work,  and  utilized,  as  otherwise  related, 
in  legendary  and  historical  records.  The 
degree  is  traced  to  Dunham,  England,  1774, 
when  it  was  conferred  in  symbolic  Lodges  as 
a  side  or  unsystematized  ceremonial.  It  be- 
came popular  and  spread  throughout  the 
Kingdom,  but  the  United  Grand  Lodges  of 
England  (1813)  refused  to  recognize  it. 
Gradually  it  separated  from  symbolic  Lodges 
andAvas  conferred  in  Mark  Lodges.  In  1856 
the  English  Grand  Lodge  of  Mark  Master 
Masons  was  formed,  which  maintains  cor- 
dial relations  with  American  Grand  Royal 
Arch  Chapters.  In  1792-93  St.  Andrew's 
Royal  Arch  Lodge,  Boston,  incorporated 
the  Mark  Master's  degree,  and  the  latter 
soon  after  appeared  as  a  detached  degree 
in  other  American  Lodges. 

The  Past  Master's  degree,  as  such,  which 
is  of  American  origin  and  forms  the  fifth 
degree  of  the  American  Rite,  did  not  ap- 
pear until  the  second  decade  of  the  present 
century.  Prior  to  that  time  Past  Masters 
were  those  who  had  actually  presided  over 
Lodges  or  who  had  received  dispensations 
from  Grand  Masters  permitting  them  to 
assume  the  title  to  render  them  eligible  to 
the  Royal  Arch  degree.  The  advisability 
of  the  introduction  of  the  degree  into  the 
American  capitular  system  has  often  been 
and  still  is  seriously  questioned. 

The  Most  Excellent  Master's,  or  sixth  de- 
gree of  the  American  Rite,  an  American  in- 
vention, is  supposed  to  have  first  appeared  at 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  in  1795  ;  to  have  been  the 
invention  of  John  Hanmer,  an  accomplished 
Masonic,  ritualist  of  England  then  visiting 
the  Craft,  and  to  have  been  elaborated  by 
Thomas  Smith  Webb,  Past  Grand  Master 
of  Rhode  Island,  the  well-known  Ameri- 
can Masonic  ritualist,  who  left  so  deep  an 
impress  on  the  formation  of  what  has  be- 
come the  American  Rite  of  Freemasonry. 
It  celebrates  the  completion  and  dedication 
of  the  first  Temple,  and  so  supplies  a  link 
between  the  Master  JNIason  and  the  Royal 
Arch  degree,  of  Avhich  it  is  the  immediate 
predecessor. 


FREEMASONRY 


35 


The  essentials  of  the  original  Master  Ma- 
son degree  are  believed  to  have  appeared  in 
new  form,  in  tliat  which  became  the  Royal 
Arch,  in  France,  between  1838  and  1840. 
That  the  Master's  degree  prior  thereto  con- 
tained something  which  gives  the  Eoyal 
Arch  its  distinctive  connection  with  it, 
has  been  shown  in  many  ways,  notably 
in  an  old  French  print  illustrating  an  im- 
portant ceremony  in  the  third  degree,  in 
which  a  Name  appears.  The  origin  of 
the  Royal  Arch  has  often  been  erroneously 
attributed  to  the  Chevalier  Ramsay,  one 
of  the  learned  Freemasons  of  the  first  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century  and  an  alleged 
partisan  of  the  exiled  Stuart.  The  only  rea- 
son for  believing  that  Ramsay  had  anything 
to  do  with  it  was  the  fact  that  he  had  the 
ability  to  construct  such  a  ceremonial,  and 
Avas  for  a  brief  period  associated  with  the 
young  Pretender.  Beginning  about  1738-40 
French  Masonic  ritualists  and  others  began 
the  construction  of  additional  degrees  called 
Scottish,  which  they  superimposed  upon 
the  three  symbolic  degrees.  The  Chevalier 
Ramsay,  born  at  Ayr,  Scotland,  in  1786, 
was  made  a  Freemason  at  London  about 
1728.  He  was  a  tutor  to  the  sons  of  the 
Pretender  in  Rome  for  fifteen  months,  be- 
tween 1725  and  1727,  after  which  he  re- 
turned to  England,  and  was  prominent 
among  London  Freemasons  and  literary 
men  until  1737,  when  he  went  to  Paris.  In 
the  same  year  he  delivered  his  now  famous 
speech  on  Freemasonry,  in  which  he  merely 
elaborated  Anderson  traditions  as  to  the  ori- 
gin of  the  Fraternity.  Nowhere  did  he 
speak  of  Templary,  but  he  did  advance  a 
theory  that  some  of  the  Crusaders  under 
Prince  Edward,  son  of  Edward  IIL,  who 
had  become  Knights  of  St.  John  in  the 
Holy  Land  (not  St.  John  of  Malta),  returned 
to  England,  and,  under  the  patronage  of 
the  Prince,  took  the  name  of  Freemasons. 
He  declared  that  a  Lodge  was  established  at 
Kilwinning,  in  Scotland,  in  1286,  but  that 
it  afterward  declined,  and  that  it  was  the 
English  Masonic  Crusaders  who  perpetuated 


Freemasonry.  Gould  presumes  the  refer- 
ence to  Kilwinning  was  a  rhetorical  flour- 
ish due  to  his  Scotch  origin  and  familiarity 
with  Scotland,  for  the  statement  requires  no 
refutation.  His  theory  as  to  the  chivalric 
origin  of  Freemasonry,  whether  or  not  a 
delicate  compliment  to  the  distinguished 
company  he  was  addressing,  was  only  a  the- 
ory, for  it  had  no  foundation.  This  address 
had  unlooked-for  and  somewhat  remarkable 
results.  Its  first  effect  was  to  furnish  an 
alleged  authority  for  the  legends  of  many 
of  the  Scottish  degrees  Avhich  appeared  in 
France  within  the  next  few  years,  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  Templar  theory  of  the 
origin  of  Freemasonry  which  they  presented, 
and  for  their  supposititious  Scottish  origin. 
A  second  result  was  the  charge  that  Ramsa}' 
was  himself  the  inventor  of  Scottish  degrees, 
owing  to  his  friendship  for  the  young  Pre- 
tender, and  that  the  ulterior  purpose  of 
those  degrees  was  to  draw  adherents  to,  and 
gain  money  for,  the  claimant  of  the  British 
throne.  This  was  almost  universally  be- 
lieved by  otherwise  well-informed  students 
of  the  origin  of  the  Scottish  degrees  of  1739- 
50,  until  Gould,  in  a  careful  examination 
of  the  subject  a  dozen  years  ago,  showed  its 
absurdity.  Ramsay  was  a  liberal  Catholic, 
and  was  antagonized  by  the  Jesuits,  who 
were  connected  with  the  earlier  fabrication 
of  some  of  the  Scottish  degrees.  There  is 
absolutely  no  proof  that  Ramsay  sympa- 
thized with  the  Stuarts,  and  there  is  much 
that  he  did  not.  That  he  ever  invented  any 
Masonic  degree  has  never  been  shown.  That 
his  speech  was  used  by  French  degree- 
makers  between  1740  and  1750  to  give  a 
status  to  tlieir  creations,  and  that  his  name 
was  used  for  the  same  purpose,  require  no  ar- 
gument. After  writing  two  letters  to  Cardi- 
nal Fleury,  the  French  Prime  ^[inister, 
^larch  20  and  22,  1737  (see  Gould's  "  His- 
tory of  Freemasonry,"  vol.  ill.,  pp.  337, 
338),  ui-ging  official  protection  of  Free- 
masonry, which  might  well  be  read,  in  all 
sincerity,  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  Ramsay  re- 
turned to  London  and  was  not  heard   of 


36 


FREEMASONRY 


again  publicly  until  his  death  in  1743.  The 
early  Scottish  degrees  which  appeared  in 
France,  fabulously  attributed  to  Scotland, 
though  dissimilar  in  one  respect,  had  a 
legend  in  common — that  of  the  discovery  of 
a  long  lost  and  Ineffable  AVord  in  a  secret 
vault  by  Scottish  Crusaders.  In  this  is 
found  the  germ  of  the  Eoyal  Arch  degree, 
not  only  that  of  Enoch,  the  earlier  Scottish 
degree  sublimated  into  the  thirteenth  of  the- 
Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Eite  of  to-day, 
but  of  the  English  or  Royal  Arch  of  Zerub- 
babel.  These  (French)  Scottish  degrees, 
with  the  vault  and  Arch,  one  or  more  of 
them,  were  carried  into  England,  and  first 
heard  of  at  York,  in  the  independent  Grand 
Lodge  at  that  city,  Avhence  Kilwinning 
Lodge,  Dublin,  received  it  at  the  hands  of 
a  visiting  brother  prior  to  1744.  Laurence 
Dermott  was  made  a  Freemason  at  Dublin 
in  1744,  and  received  the  Eoyal  Arch  degree 
there  in  1746.  He  modified  and  introduced 
it  into  seceding  Lodges  at  London.  The  re- 
sult was  the  English  or  Eoyal  Arch  of  Zerub- 
babel  in  distinction  from  the  Eoyal  Arch  of 
Enoch,  now  the  thirteenth  degree  of  the 
Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Eite,  into  which 
the  Eoyal  Arch  became  incorporated  through 
having  been  absorbed  into  the  French  Eite 
of  Perfection  in  1754,  and  by  the  Emperors 
of  the  East  and  West  in  1758,  from  which 
we  get  the  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Eite 
of  1801.  British  army  Lodges,  most  of 
them  hailing  from  the  schismatic  Grand 
Lodge,  brought  this  degree,  as  well  as  the 
Mark,  to  the  American  colonies.  The  first 
Eoyal  Arch  Chapter  held  here  was  under 
that  title,  "  No.  3,"  at  Philadelphia,  but  the 
degree  was  first  conferred  in  St.  Andrew's 
Eoyal  Arch  Lodge,  Boston,  afterward  St. 
Andrew's  Eoyal  Arch  Chapter,  in  1769, 
and  soon  after  it  was  found  in  Xew  York 
city  and  at  various  points  in  Xew  England. 
The  first  Eoyal  Arch  Chapter  in  New  York 
city  (independent)  was  chartered  by  Pro- 
vincial Grand  Master  George  Harrison  in 
1757.  The  Eoyal  Arch  degree,  the  seventh 
of  the  American  Eite,  constitutes  the  sum- 


mit and  perfection  of  symbolic  Freemasonry. 
It  is  conferred  on  no  more  or  less  than  three 
persons  at  the  same  time,  and  treats  of  the 
destruction  of  the  first  Temj)le  at  Jerusalem 
and  the  building  of  the  second  Temple,  to- 
gether with  important  discoveries  made  on 
the  return  of  the  Jews  from  the  Babylonish 
captivity.  Prior  to  1795,  the  Mark,  Most 
Excellent,  and  Eoyal  Arch  ceremonials  were 
conferred  in  America  as  detached  degrees, 
generally  in  Lodges,  that  last  named  some- 
times in  Chapters  held  under  cover  of  Lodge 
warrants.  The  Eoyal  Arch  Chapter  was 
convened  at  Philadelphia  in  1795  by  James 
Molau,  in  which  the  four  capitular  degrees 
were  for  the  first  time  conferred  as  at  j)res- 
ent,  in  regular  order,  Mark  Master,  Past 
Master,  Most  Excellent  Master,  and  Eoyal 
Arch  Mason.  In  1798  delegates  from  nine 
Eoyal  Arch  Chapters,  six  from  New  Eng- 
land, and  three  from  New  York  State,  met 
at  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  formed  a  Grand 
Eoyal  Arch  Chapter  of  the  Northern  States 
of  America,  which,  in  1806,  became  the 
General  Grand  Chapter  of  Eoyal  Arch  Ma- 
sons for  the  United  States  of  America, 
which  meets  triennially  to  this  day,  and  is 
the  governing  body  of  American  Grand 
Eoyal  Arch  Chapters,  except  Grand  Chap- 
ters in  Pennsylvania,  where  the  Grand  Chap- 
ter is  subordinate  to  the  Grand  Lodge;  in 
Virginia,  founded  in  1808,  and  in  West  Vir- 
ginia (1871),  where  they  remain  indepen- 
dent. In  Virginia  and  West  Virginia  what 
are  known  as  the  Council  degrees,  elsewhere 
the  eighth  and  ninth  of  the  American  Eite 
(Eoyal  Master  and  Select  Master),  are  con- 
ferred in  Eoyal  Arch  Chapters.  The  hon- 
orary Order  of  High  Priesthood,  first  heard 
of  in  Pennsjdvania  in  1825,  is  conferred  by 
Past  High  Priests  on  Eoyal  Arch  Masons 
who  have  been  regularly  elected  to  preside 
over  Eoyal  Arch  Chapters. 

The  eighth,  ninth,  and  tenth,  the  Cryptic 
degrees  of  the  American  Eite,  are  the  Eoyal 
Master,  Select  Master,  and  Super-Excellent 
Master  respectively,  and  are  so  called  be- 
cause the  first  two  treat  of  a  secret  vault. 


FREEMASONRY 


37 


They  are  conferred  in  Councils  of  Eoyal  and 
Select  Masters  which  are  federated  into 
Grand  Councils  and  a  General  Council  of 
the  United  States  of  America.  With  few 
exceptions,  Grand  Commanderies  of  Knights 
'I'emphxrs  do  not  require  the  possession  of 
the  Cryptic  degrees  by  candidates  for  Orders 
conferred  in  Commanderies.  The  Cryptic 
degrees  are  also  worked  in  Enghxnd  andt 
Canada,  where  they  were  taken  from  the 
United  States,  and  form  interesting  supple- 
ments to  the  Master's  and  tlie  IWal  Arch 
degrees.  The  Koyal  and  the  Select  Masters' 
degrees,  formerly  unattached,  honorary, 
Scottish  Rite  degrees,  were  introduced  into 
America,  probably  at  Albany,  in  1767,  by 
Francken  (see  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish 
Kite);  into  Charleston  in  1783  by  Scottish 
Rite  Masons  who  received  them  from 
Francken  ;  into  Georgia  in  1796  ;  and  into 
Xew  York  in  1808,  where  in  1810  a  Grand 
Council  was  formed.  They  were  originally 
conferred  at  will  upon  Royal  Arch  IVIasons 
by  those  empowered  to  do  so,  and  after  1820 
gradually  found  their  way  into  separate 
bodies  called  Councils,  convened  by  Royal 
and  Select  Masters  for  that  purpose,  al- 
thougli  the  Supreme  Council,  Ancient,  Ac- 
cepted Scottish  Rite,  Southern  Masonic  Jur- 
isdiction, United  States  of  America,  claimed 
without  exercising  much  jurisdiction  over 
the  degrees,  until  1870,  when  it  relinquished 
authority  over  them  to  Grand  Councils  of 
Royal  and  Select  Masters,  which  had  grown 
up  inucli  the  same  as  did  the  earlier  Crand 
Chapters  of  Royal  Arch  Masons.  In  \\r- 
ginia  and  Maryland  both  degrees  are  con- 
ferred in  Chapters  prior  to  the  Royal  Arch 
degree.  The  Royal  Master's  degree  repre- 
sents the  search  by  the  Fellowcraft  Adoni- 
ram,  prior  to  the  tragedy  of  the  third  de- 
gree, for  that  which  was  to  be  the  reward 
of  faithful  craftsmen.  In  the  following 
degree  the  deposit  is  made  by  the  master 
builder  which  was  brought  to  light  at  the 
building  of  the  second  Temple.  The  origin 
of  the  honorary  degree  of  Super-Excellent 
Master  is  unknown,  but  is  believed  to  be 


native.  It  has  no  connection  with  the  two 
which  precede  it,  and  is  an  elaboration  of 
tliat  portion  of  the  Royal  Arch  which  re- 
lates to  the  destruction  of  the  first  Temple 
by  Nebuzaradan. 

There  liave  been  various  theories  as  to 
the  origin  of  Masonic  Knights  Templars, 
and  it  is  surprising  that  only  within  the  last 
thirty  years  have  Knights  Templars  them- 
selves made  the  necessary  investigation  to 
learn  that  they  never  had  any  connection 
with  the  Ancient  Military  and  Religious 
Order  of  the  Temple.  The  like  is  true, 
also,  with  reference  to  the  Masonic  Order  of 
Knights  of  St.  John  and  Malta.  Among 
the  theories  to  explain  a  direct  connection 
between  modern  Knights  Templars  and  the 
ancient  order,  the  oldest  is  that  having  ref- 
erence to  the  Charter  of  Larmenius.  When 
JacquQS  de  ]\Iolay,  Grand  Master  of  the 
Templars,  was  in  prison,  he  is  said  to  have 
sent  for  Larmenius  just  prior  to  his  death, 
and  to  have  given  him  a  charter  ajipointing 
him  his  successor  with  power  to  name  his 
own  successor  and  so  perpetuate  the  Order. 
In  1682,  three  hundred  and  sixty-four,  years 
afterward,  a  society  was  organized  at  Paris, 
called  La  Petite  Resurrection  des  Templiers. 
Its  members  were  bo/i  vivants  among  the 
younger  element  at  the  French  court,  and 
the  organization  became  so  luuch  more  con- 
spicuous for  the  cultivation  of  licentiousness 
than  the  knightly  virtues,  that  it  was  sup- 
pressed by  the  king.  In  1705,  perhaps 
twenty  years  after  its  suppression,  twelve 
years  before  the  revival  of  Freemasonry  in 
England,  and  twenty  years  before  its  intro- 
duction into  France,  the  society  was  revived 
by  Philip,  Duke  of  Orleans,  as  a  secret  po- 
litical organization,  and  declared  a  direct 
continuation  of  the  Order  of  the  Temple 
which  was  overtlirown  and  dispersed  by 
Pope  Clement  V.  and  Philip  the  Fair  in 
1314.  The  authority  for  this  was  the  char- 
ter of  Larmenius,  then  first  nuide  public, Avith 
a  list  of  signatures  following  the  name  of  Lar- 
menius, as  alleged  succeeding  Grand  Mas- 
ters.    The  Duke  tried  to  obtain  recognition 


38 


FREEMASONRY 


for  his  Order  and  for  the  charter  from  the 
Portuguese  Order  of  Christ,  said  to  have 
been  formed  by  a  number  of  De  Molay's  fol- 
lowers wlio  escai')ed  to  Portugal  and  secured 
the  protection  of  the  king,  with  permission 
to  continue  their  Order  under  the  new  title. 
Failing  in  this,  the  Orleans-Larmenius  Order 
of  the  Temple  fell  into  obscurity.  It  was 
last  heard  of  as  the  Societe  d'Aloyau  (Beef- 
steak Club)  about  1789.  The  Revolution  is 
supposed  to  have  finished  it.  In  1804-5 
several  clever,  learned,  but  unscrupulous 
men  came  into  the  possession  of  the  cha^rter 
of  Larmenius  through  having  purchased  a 
jDiece  of  antique  furniture  in  which  it  had 
been  secreted.  It  was  an  easy  matter  to 
bring  the  charter  down  to  date,  by  adding 
names  of  alleged  Grand  Masters,  after  which 
the  Order  of  the  Temple  was  again  revived 
(or  created),  and  exists  to  this  day,  claiming 
to  be  the  only  true  continuation  of  the  orig- 
inal Templars.  Its  progress  was  not  rapid 
in  the  first  quarter  of  the  century,  and  with 
the  introduction  of  Freemasonry  into  France 
these  French  Templars  incorporated  the 
three  symbolic  degrees  as  the  foundation 
of  their  rite.  The  German  Rite  of  the 
Strict  Observance  obtained  its  Templar  Or- 
der, as  stated  in  its  own  legend,  through 
Peter  Aumont,  one  of  De  Molay's  associates 
who  fled  to  Scotland.  This  statement  and 
the  fact  that  Von  Hund,  who  founded  the 
rite,  had  received  the  earlier  (French)  Scot- 
tish degrees  in  Paris,  prior  to  establishing 
his  rite,  are  sufficient  to  show  the  fabulous 
character  of  the  Aumont  story.  The  Swed- 
ish Rite  attributes  its  Order  of  the  Temple 
to  Count  Beaujeu,  a  nephew  of  De  Molay, 
who,  it  declares,  became  a  member  of  the 
Order  of  Christ  in  Portugal,  went  to  Swe- 
den, and  there  revived  the  true  Order  of  the 
Temple.  This  story  also  is  its  own  author- 
ity. The  Scotch  claim  that  the  modern 
Scotch  Templars  descended  from  Knights 
of  the  ancient  Order  who  fled  to  Scotland 
after  the  death  of  De  Molay,  and  joined  the 
ancient  Masonic  Lodge  of  working  Freema- 
sons at  Stirling.     This  also  is  one  of  those 


legends  which  have  been  repeated  so  often 
as  to  finally  gain  credence.  There  was  no 
Knight  Templary  in  Scotland  when  the 
young  Pretender  went  there  prior  to  his 
defeat  at  Culloden,  although  it  has  been  so 
often  stated  that  he  was  elected  Grand  Mas- 
ter of  the  Order  of  the  Temple  in  Scotland 
in  1745,  that  the  story  has  been  looked  upon 
as  true.  English  modern  Templary  is  said 
to  have  been  derived  from  Baldwyn  Encamp- 
ment at  Bristol,  which  had  existed  "from 
time  immemorial,"  or  from  one  or  more  an- 
cient Encampments  at  London,  York,  Bath, 
and  Salisbury,  where  refugee  Knights  of  the 
ancient  Order  made  their  headquarters;  but 
in  the  light  of  modern  historical  evidence  it 
would  be  difficult  to  show  that  these  English 
centres  of  ancient  Templarism  shielded  any 
genuine  Knights  Templars  four  hundred 
years  after  the  death  of  De  Molay;  that  the 
haughty  survivors  of  the  ancient  Order  in 
England  united  ^vitli  the  operative  Free- 
masons of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries,  or  that  either  as  Knights  or  Free- 
masons they  survived  until  after  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  Masonic 
Templar  degrees  began  to  make  their  ap- 
pearance from  France. 

The  earliest  recorded  Temple  degree  at 
Baldwyn  Encampment  is  not  traced  beyond 
1779  or  1780,  ten  years  after  some  sort  of 
Templai'y  had  appeared  in  the  United  States 
from  Ireland.  English  Masonic  Templary, 
including  the  degree  of  Knight  of  St.  John 
of  Rhodes,  Palestine,  and  Malta  (the  union 
of  which  Orders  legend-makers  have  ex- 
plained as  due  to  the  association  of  the  early 
Templars  and  Knights  of  Malta  in  Scotland), 
took  sliape  in  1791,  six  years  prior  to  the 
first  Grand  Encampment  formed  in  the 
United  States,  a  General  Conclave  having 
been  organized  in  that  year  by  Dunckerly, 
the  well-known  English  ritualist.  In  1809 
the  title  was  *'  The  Royal,  Exalted,  Reli- 
gious, and  Military  Order  of  H.  R.  D.  M., 
Grand  Elected  Masonic  Knights  Templars, 
K.  D.  S.  H.  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  Pal- 
estine,  Rhodes,   etc."     This  reference   to 


FREEMASONRY 


39 


Heroclem  and  to  Kadosch  points  quite  con- 
clusively to  the  absorption  of  earlier  (French) 
Scottish  degrees.  At  that  period,  too, 
"  Lodges  of  Craft  ^Easons  and  Chapters  of 
the  Koyal  Arch,"  it  was  declared  by  author- 
ity of  the  Eoyal  Grand  Patron,  "  pretend,  by 
virtue  of  their  respective  Charters  of  Con- 
stitution, to  admit  Knights  of  the  several 
Orders  mentioned,  and  to  confer  the  De- 
grees of  RosEe  Crucis  to  the  said  Orders  an- 
nexed and  thereon  dependent;  "  and,  says 
Hughan,  '"means  were  taken  to  prevent 
such  irregularity." 

The  clash  between  the  English  Supreme 
Body,  which  chose  to  absorb  the  chivalric 
degrees,  and  Lodges  and  Chajjters  which, 
as  admitted,  had  long  been  conferring  them 
without  special  authority,  would  seem  to 
further  show  that  these  high  grades  were 
derived  from  the  early  Scottish  degrees  and 
their  successors  (from  which  it  is  admitted 
English  Lodges  received  the  germ  of  their 
Royal  Arch),  and  not  from  surviving 
ancient  Templary  in  England  or  Scotland. 
The  Duke  of  Sussex  became  Grand  Mas- 
ter of  the  exalted  Orders  in  1812,  and  con- 
tinued to  act  until  his  decease  in  1843, 
Colonel  Kemeys-Tynte  succeeding  him  in 
1840.  The  Duke  of  Sussex  was  evidently  not 
satisfied  with  what  he  received  in  the  way  of 
Masonic  Templary  from  Dunckerly,  for  he 
asked  for  and  obtained  the  ritual  of  the 
French  Order  of  the  Temple,  which  he  used, 
as  ^lackey  says,  only  once.  He  also  applied 
to  Alexander  II.  of  Russia,  nominal  head  of 
a  surviving  remnant  of  the  ancient  Knights 
of  Malta  in  Russia,  and  obtained  authority 
to  create  Knights  of  that  rank  in  England, 
which  constitutes  the  nearest  approach  the 
English  body  can  claim  to  any  connection 
with  the  ancient  Knights  of  Malta.  The 
revival  of  the  English  Language  of  the  an- 
cient Knights  of  St.  Jolin,  Malta,  etc.,  in 
England,  in  1831,  where  it  had  been  extinct 
for  nearly  three  hundred  years,  brought  to 
life  an  aristocratic  social  institution  repre- 
senting the  fourth  inroad  of  Maltaism  into 
the  modern  English  Temple  and  ]\[alta  asso- 


ciation, the  first  being  from  the  Dunckerly 
ritual,  the  second  that  imported  from  the 
French  Order  of  the  Temple,  and  the  third 
from  Russia.  In  1846  the  Ancient,  Ac- 
cepted Scottish  Rite  having  finally  been  in- 
troduced into  England,  the  Rose  Croix  and 
Kadosch  degrees  were  "  gradually  restored  " 
to  that  rite.  The  English  Religious  and 
Military  Order  of  the  Temple  spread 
throughout  the  Kingdom,  and  in  1873  the 
Prince  of  Wales  was  installed  frraud  Master 
of  the  Convent  General  (founded  in  1872), 
since  composed  of  the  Great  Priories  of  Eng- 
land and  AVales,  Ireland,  and  Canada.  The 
Scottish  f raters  declined  to  join  the  new  or- 
ganization. Canada  withdrew  in  1883,  and 
still  insists  it  represents  a  continuation  of 
the  ancient  Templars. 

It  was  in  the  early  (French)  Scottish  de- 
grees of  1739-50,  which  multiplied  and  be- 
came popular,  that  a  second  series  of  liigher 
grades  appeared,  those  in  which  Templar 
and  Malta  degrees  were  revived.  The 
(French)  Scottish  Masters  assumed  preroga- 
tives not  possessed  by  ordinary  ^Master  Ma- 
sons, such  as  to  sit  covered  in  Lodges,  to  con- 
trol elections  of  officers  of  symbolic  Lodges, 
and  even  to  usurp  the  functions  of  a  Grand 
Lodge;  and  with  the  fabrication  of  a  ^la- 
souic  Knight  Temjilary,  in  which  the  noviti- 
ate was  told  that  the  Ancient  Templars  fled 
to  Scotland  in  1314  and  there  became  Free- 
masons, was  introduced  another  field  of  ex- 
ploration for  those  who  had  already  delved 
dee])  into  the  arcana  of  symbolic  and  Scot- 
tish degrees.  As  Gould  says:  '"Some  of 
these  Scots  Lodges  would  appear  to  have 
very  early  manufactured  new  degrees  con- 
necting these  very  distinguislied  Scots  Ma- 
sons with  the  Knights  Templars,  and  thus 
giving  rise  to  the  subsequent  flood  of  Tem- 
plarism."  The  Kadosch  (Templar)  degree 
was  invented  as  early  ;is  1741  at  Lyons, 
France.  It  typified  the  revenge  of  the  Tem- 
plars, and  a  modification  of  it  constitutes  the 
thirtieth  degree  of  the  existing  Ancient,  Ac- 
cepted Rite.  By  1745  Masonic  Templary 
had  spread   over   Europe,   finally   securing 


40 


FREEMASONRY 


recognition  in  both  the  York,  independent, 
and  the  Ancient  Grand  Lodges  of  England. 
It  is  to  this  source,  then,  rather  than  to 
Larmenius,  Aumont,  Beaujeu,  or  survivors 
of  ancient  Templars  who  fled  to  England 
and  Scotland  that  one  must  look  for  the 
Masonic  Order  of  the  Temple  as  we  have 
it  in  the  United  Kingdom  and  the  United 
States  to-daj.  The  Order  appeared  in  Ire- 
land prior  to  1779,  but  just  how  long  before 
cannot  be  stated.  It  was  only  natural  that 
it  should  be  popular  in  the  Catholic  city  of 
Dublin,  when  one  considers  the  evolution 
of  symbolic  Freemasonry,  originally  Chris- 
tian, into  a  unitarian  and  cosmopolitan 
institution.  The  definition  of  Masonic 
Knighthood,  by  T.  S.  Parvin,  in  the  Ameri- 
can aj^iiendix  to  Gould's  "  History  of  Free- 
masonry "  (vol.  iv.,  p.  557),  is  as  follows:  It 
"  is  a  society  eminently  Christian,  purged 
of  all  the  leaven  of  heathen  rites  and  tradi- 
tions, and  to  which  none  are  admitted  but 
members  of  a  Masonic  body,  and  such  only 
as  profess  themselves  to  be  Trinitarian 
Christians."  Hugh  McCurdy,  Past  Grand 
Master  of  the  Grand  Encampment  of 
Knights  Templars,  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica, in  an  address  at  the  Triennial  Conclave 
at  Boston,  in  1895,  said: 

Modern  Templary  is  a  Christian  association  of 
Freemasons  adhering  sacredly  to  the  traditions  of 
the  military  Orders  of  the  Crusades,  strictly  follow- 
ing, so  far  as  possible,  their  principles  and  customs, 
yielding  obedience  to  their  teachings,  and  accepting 
laneonditionally  their  Trinitarian  doctrine.  The 
teachings  are  founded  upon  the  Bible,  and  a  Temp- 
lar must  be  a  Christian;  for,  it  is  said,  the  practice 
of  Christian  virtues  is  their  avowed  purj^ose  of  affilia- 
tion. ^'  Non  noiis,  Dotnine,"  is  their  motto,  and 
" In  7ioc  signo  vinces"  is  still  their  legend. 

In  Kilwinning  Lodge,  Dublin,  the  degree 
was  conferred  on  Eoyal  Arch  Masons  under 
the  title  "High  Knights  Templars,"  whence 
it  went  to  Scotland,  and,  strangely,  long  be- 
fore 1779,  the  earliest  record  of  it  in  Dublin, 
to  America, through  an  Irisli  military  Lodge. 
The  earliest  known  record  of  conferring  this 
Masonic  Order  anywhere  is  dated  1769,  in 
St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  Boston.    During  the 


next  thirty  years  it  is  traced  to  Charleston, 
Philadelphia,  New  York  city,  and  to  other 
points  in  the  United  States,  generally  being 
conferred  under  Lodge,  sometimes  Chapter 
warrants.  Prior  to  1797,  there  were  no 
American  Knight  Templar  associations 
authorized  to  grant  warrants  for  Encamp- 
ments, as  Commanderies  were  called  prior 
to  1856,  so  that  nearly  all  earlier  Templar 
bodies  here  were  self -created.  There  were 
Knights  Templars  in  New  Y'ork  city  as 
early  as  1785,  and  in  Philadelphia  in  1794. 
Temple  and  Malta  rituals,  as  used  in  Amer- 
ican Commanderies,  are  purely  American, 
and  show  something  more  than  a  trace  of 
the  Eose  Croix  (eighteenth),  the  Knight  of 
the  Brazen  Serpent  (twenty-fifth).  Com- 
mander of  the  Temple  (twenty-sixth),  and 
the  Knight  Kadosch  (thirtieth)  degrees  of 
the  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Eite,  to 
which  the  American  Temple  and  Malta 
rituals  virtually  owe  their  origin. 

American  records  of  the  Eed  Cross  de- 
gree, now  the  eleventh,  and  the  Knight  of 
Malta,  the  thirteenth  and  last  of  the  Amer- 
ican Eite,  are  few  and  far  between,  jDrior  to 
the  present  century,  but  both  are  known  to 
have  existed  at  Charleston  as  early  as  1783. 
The  Eed  Cross  is  a  fabrication  by  chiefs  of 
the  Scottish  Eite  of  an  earlier  period  from 
what  are  now  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
grades  of  that  rite.  It  was  formerly  prac- 
tised under  the  title  ''Babylonish  Pass,''  has 
a  Jewish  and  Persian  legend,  and  supple- 
ments the  Eoyal  Arch.  It  has  no  place  in 
any  Templar  system  and  should  not  have 
been  incorjDorated  in  one. 

The  Malta  degree  is  out  of  place  in  any 
secret  organization.  The  Ancient  Knights 
of  Malta  did  not  constitute  a  secret  society 
and  Avere  bitter  rivals  of  Knights  Templars. 
In  1856  the  Grand  Encampment  of  Knights 
Templars  of  the  United  States  declared  that 
the  incorporation  of  the  Order  of  Malta  with 
that  of  Knights  Templars,  and  the  making 
the  one  person  the  possessor  of  both  degrees, 
was  a  violation  of  historic  accuracy,  and  the 
Malta  de2:ree  was  discarded;  but  in  1862  it 


FREEMASONRY 


41 


was  restored,  to  be  communicated  after  the 
candidate  luid  been  created  a  Knight  Tem- 
plar. 

The  earliest  notice  of  a  Malta  degree  or 
ceremony  in  Scotland  is  that  on  ^two  old 
brass  plates,  said  to  have  been  in  possession 
of  Stirling  Ancient  Lodge,  but  now  lost. 
One  related  to  the  first  two  degrees  of  Free- 
masonry ;  the  other  displayed  Master's  em- 
blems on  one  side,  and  on  the  reverse,  at  the 
top,  the  Red  Cross  or  ark  ;  at  the  bottom 
a  series  of  concentric  rings  which  suggested 
a  rainbow,  except  for  a  keystone,  indicating 
an  arch  ;  the  sepulclire,  Knight  of  Malta, 
and  Knight  Templar.  The  plates  could 
scarcely  have  dated  back  farther  than  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  judging 
from  reference  to  the  Red  Cross.  Scotch 
Masonic  Lodges  became  acquainted  with 
Templar  and  Malta  ceremonies  through 
Irish  brethren  who  belonged  to  regiments 
serving  in  Scotland  about  the  close  of  the 
last  century.  These  degrees  were  then 
known  as  "Black  Masonry,"  and  were  pro- 
pagated through  charters  issued  by  the 
High  Knights  Templars  of  Kilwinning 
Lodge,  in  Dublin.  From  Dublin  Kilwin- 
ning arose  the  early  encampments  of  L'c- 
land,  and  subsequently  tlie  early  Grand 
Encampment,  which  chartered  Lodges  in 
Scotland  and  England.  The  refusal  of 
Baldwyn  Encampment,  England,  to  confer 
the  Temple  and  Malta  Orders  on  any  but 
Royal  Arch  Masons,  which  rule  obtains  in 
like  Masonic  bodies  to  this  day,  has  been 
declared  to  have  given  rise  to  the  formation 
of  Encampments  in  Ireland  separate  from 
the  influence  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity. 
These  Encampments  became  identified  with 
the  Orange  bodies  early  in  this  century, 
and  subsequently  extended  their  influence 
to  America,  through  an  "Imperial  Parent, 
Grand  Black  Encampment"  of  Scotland,  u 
"Grand  Lodge,"  organized  about  1844, 
claiming  supreme  jurisdiction  over  a  reli- 
gious and  military  Order  of  Malta.  (See 
Non-Masonic  Orders  of  Malta. ) 

That  there  was  abundant  material  to  en- 


able this  independent  Scotch-Orange  body 
to  produce  an  Order  of  Malta  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  in  1720  the  "History  of 
the  Knights  of  Malta,"  by  De  Vertot,  was 
published  in  Paris  ;  and  that  from  1495  to 
1735  there  were  no  less  than  thirty  publica- 
tions treating  of  the  statutes,  ordinances, 
and  ceremonies  of  the  Hospitaller  Order  of 
St.  John  of  Malta.  The  dramas  of  the  day 
also  characterized  the  ceremonies  of  the 
Order,  and  in  Beaumont  and  Fletcher's 
"Knight  of  Malta"  (1646),  the  ceremonies 
at  initiation  and  degradation  are  illustrated 
and  exemplified. 

Masonic  Knight  Templary,  tlien,  is  con- 
nected with  the  ancient  Templars  only  in 
name,  and  tlirough  its  use  of  Temi)lar 
emblems  and  the  names  of  ancient  Grand 
Masters  of  the  Templars,  and  of  sites 
rendered  historical  by  them  as  titles  for 
Commanderies.  The  American  Templar 
ceremonial  is  exclusively  Masonic  in  method 
and  arrangement,  repi'esenting  the  second, 
or  Christian,  in  cratrast  with  the  first,  or 
Jewish,  dispensation.  It  docs  not  incorpo- 
rate the  ritual  of  the  ancient  or  of  English 
Templars.  It  is  doubtful  whether  there 
was  much  of  any  ceremonial  in  American 
Templar  bodies  until  in  the  second  decade 
of  the  present  century.  Early  American 
Encampments  are  known  to  have  had  little 
else  than  distinctive  uniforms,  emblems, 
and  an  obligation.  Bi\t  in  1814  the  Sover- 
eign Grand  Consistory  of  the  ancient  Scot- 
tish Rite  of  Ilerodem,  established  at  Xew 
York  city  in  1807  by  Joseph  Ccrneau,  a 
spurious  Scottish  Rite  body,  whicli  had  no 
more  to  do  with  the  independent  Templar 
Encampments  of  that  day  than  with  the 
New  York  Chamber  of  Conjmerce,  pre- 
sumed to,  and  actually  did,  constitute  a 
Grand  Encampment  of  Knights  Tem]>lars 
and  Appendent  Orders  for  tlie  State  of  New 
York.  It  was  the  early  Ccrneau  Masons 
who.  without  authority,  constituted  a  Grand 
Encampment  of  Knights  Temjdars,  a  body  of 
which  they  officially  knew  nothing,  and  who 
filclied  from  four  Scottish  Rite  dcirrecs  that 


42 


FREEMASONRY 


which,  with  modifications,  gives  an  impres- 
sive and  sacred  character  to  the  American 
Temple  and  Malta  ceremonials.  A  Grand 
Encampment  of  Pennsylvania  was  formed 
in  1794,  twenty  years  before  that  in  New 
York,  and  a  second  one  in  1797,  in  which 
State  the  Grand  Chapter,  as  well  as  Grand 
Commaudery,  recognizes  a  higher  authority 
iu  the  Grand  Lodge.  The  United  States 
Grand  Encampment,  that  of  Massachusetts 
and  Ehode  Island,  was  formed  in  1805.  In 
1816,  two  years  after  the  formation  of  the 
Grand  Encampment  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  which  was  not  even  recognized  by 
Encampments  in  that  State  for  five  or  six 
years,  a  convention  of  eight  Encampments 
(five  from  New  England,  and  three  from 
New  York  State)  was  held  at  Hartford, 
Conn.,  and  the  Grand  Encampment  of 
Knights  Templars,  U.  S.  A.,  was  organized. 
There  were  also  in  existence  at  that  time 
six  other  Encampments,  which  did  not  take 
part  in  the  organization  of  what  finally  be- 
came the  Supreme  Ameftcan  Templar  body, 
one  each  at  Philadelphia,  Pittsburg,  New 
York,  Wilmington,  Del.,  Baltimore,  and 
Charleston.  Prior  to  1865  the  growth  of 
the  Order  in  America  was  slow,  but  since 
the  Civil  War  the  organization  has  been 
very  popular,  numbering  forty-three  Grand 
Commanderies  and  115,770  members  in  1898, 
out  of  about  120,000  in  the  United  States, 
United  Kingdom,  and  in  Canada.  Eighty 
years  ago  there  were  probably  not  more 
than  500  Knights  Templars  in  the  fourteen 
Encampments  in  existence  iu  the  United 
States,  when  the  Grand  Encampment  of 
the  United  States  of  America  was  formed. 

An  accompanying  table  of  total  mem- 
bership of  the  American  Eite,  members 
of  Lodges,  Koyal  Arch  Chapters,  Councils 
of  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  and  Command- 
eries of  Knights  Templars,  is  presented 
so  as  to  show  comparative  statistics  for 
countries,  provinces,  etc.  The  American 
Rite  exists  in  its  entirety  only  in  the 
United  States.  There  are  Royal  Arch 
Chapters  on  the  American   system  in  the 


Dominion  of  Canada,  as  well  as  Encamp- 
ments of  Knights  Templars,  but  no  Coun- 
cils of  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  unless 
the  bodies  in  New  Brunswick  are  active. 
There  are  a  few  Councils  of  Royal  and 
Select  Masters  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
where  the  Order  of  the  Temple  is  also 
found,  with  a  total  membership  of  about 
4,000,  as  comjjared  with  nearly  113,000  in 
the  United  States.  Out  of  768,511  Master 
Masons  in  the  United  States  in  1897, 
193,639,  or  25  per  cent.,  were  Royal  Arch 
Masons  ;  and  of  the  latter,  43,478,  5.6  per 
cent,  of  the  total  number  of  Master 
Masons  and  22.5  per  cent,  of  the  Royal 
Arch  Masons,  were  Royal  and  Select  Mas- 
ters. The  latter  degrees  are  not  generally 
made  essential  to  gain  admission  to  the 
Templar  Order,  which  explains  their  com- 
paratively small  membership.  Six  Amer- 
ican Royal  Arch  Masons  out  of  ten,  however, 
are  Knights  Temj^lars,  and  one  Master 
Mason  out  of  seven.  The  strongest  Grand 
Lodges  numerically  are  those  of  New  York, 
including  about  one-eighth  of  all  the  Mas- 
ter Masons  in  the  country  ;  Illinois,  one- 
fifteenth  ;  and  Pennsylvania,  one-twentieth 
— in  all,  23  per  cent,  of  the  members  of  the 
Fraternity  in  the  United  States  and  Terri- 
tories. New  York  also  reports  the  largest 
number  of  Royal  Arch  Masons,  about  one- 
tenth  of  the  grand  total ;  Pennsylvania  being 
second,  with  one-twelfth  ;  and  Illinois  third, 
with  nearly  as  large  a  |)roportion.  The 
Cryptic  Rite,  including  the  degrees  of  Royal 
and  Select  Masters,  is  most  popular  in 
Massachusetts,  where  one-eighth  of  all  who 
have  those  degrees  are  to  be  found.  Ohio 
ranks  next,  with  one-tenth;  Michigan  third, 
with  nearly  as  large  a  total,  and  New  York 
fourth  in  order.  The  Grand  Commandery 
of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  reports 
more  than  one-tenth  of  the  total  number  of 
Knights  Templars  in  the  United  States, 
Pennsylvania  about  one-tenth,  and  New 
York  a  slightly  smaller  proportion,  after 
which  rank  Illinois  and  Ohio,  with  about 
one-twelfth  and  one-fifteenth,  respectively. 


FREEMASONRY 


43 


TOTAL   ACTIVE    MEMBERSHIP   OF    THE    AMERICAN 

RITE  OF  FREE  AND  ACCEPTED 

MASONS. 


Total 

Active  Membership, 

1897. 


Maine 

New  Hiimpsliire 

Vermont 

Massacluisctts 

Rlioile  Island 

Connecticut 

New  York    

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

Delaware 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Missouri 

Michigan 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Colorado 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Nebraska 

South  Dakota 

North  Dakota 

Montana 

Wyoming 

Maryland 

Virginia 

West  Virginia 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabanui ...   . 

^Mississippi 

Louisiana.    

Texas 

Tennessee. . . 

Arkansas  . . . .' 

District  of  Columbia. 

California 

Oregon 

Nevada 

Washington 

Idaho... 

Arizona 

Indian  Territory 

New  Mexico  

Utah 

Oklahoma 

+  Attached     to    General 
Grand  Bodies 


Totals,  I'nited  States 


Ontario 

Ouebec 

New  Brunswick 

Nova  Scotia 

Prince  Kdward  Island. 

Newfoundland 

Manitoba 

N.  W.  Territory 

British  Columbia 


Totals,  Canada. 

England  and  Wales 

Ireland 

Scotland 

Victoria,  Australia., 


Grand  Total 


o  o 


S,9(i3 

9,(i94 

3r,4G0 

4,890 

lfi,813 

90,874 

1(>,094 

49,.')89 

2,077 

40,839 

~>8.430 

.'•)-2,,-iU9 

30,(i06 

.38,608 

19,.595 

18.367 

7  2i 

16',4b8 

l.-),428 

26,890 

11,8;!6 

4,213 

2..5;i,-) 

2,()20 

1.023 

7,310 

12,052 

.5,867 

10,8:3!) 

.5,72 

17,31' 

4.393 

11,113 

9,110 

5,363 

30,567 

17,082 

13,204 

5,118 

18.208 

4,874 

948 

4,991 

1,152 

569 

2,908 

894 

7(i3 

1.085 


768,511 

23,351 

3,519 

1.774 

3.351 

515 


2.413 


1,272 


36,195 

See 
Another 
Exhibitt 


1,324,000 


32 


5,89 
3,335 
2.t!50 

13,944 
2,347 
5,433 

19,400 
3,234 

15,95' 
59, 

13,373 
6,479 

10.414 
6,681 

12,077 
5,057 
2,826 
2,456 
1.077 
4,615 
7:046 
3,042 
1,.529 
765 
663 


2,189 
1,416 
1,056 
5.294 
1,215 
3.212 
3,932 
413 
1,815 


1,602 
2,407 
1,115 

818 

591 
3,266 

675 
1,007 
1,: 
1,005 
.5,681 
2,755 
1.89' 
2,192 
.5.178 
1,238 

228 
1,141 


179 
581 


6,538 
None 


200,16; 


2,828 
704 

4,006 
79' 
7.52 


89 
133 
514 

72 


434 

20' 


901 
189 


963 


43,478 

Dorm 'I 
None 

No  etat. 
None 


79; 
None 


44,275 


as 


3,153 
2,060 
1,499 

11,789 

2,363 
11,037 

1,779 
11,218 


t... 


8,071 

3,.526 

9,518 

4,237 

5,.52;i 

3,234 

2,020 

1,667 

2,902 

2,448 

4,343 

1,769 

750 

426 

34S 

319 

1,132 

1,481 

951 

347 

'7i9 

' "  ':i82 

441 

320 

2,115 

1,091 

122 

1,534 

3.033 

415 


626 


122 
123 


1,562 


112,891 


1,548 

2.366 
968 
525 
76 


118,374 


t  Attached  to  (inmil  Encami)nient. 


Ancient,  Accepted  Scottuh  Rite,  33°. — 
Mackey,  in  his  "  EncjclopEedia  of  Freema- 
sonry ''  (p.  G97),  says  of  the  Rite  :  "  Although 
one  of  the  youngest  of  the  Masonic  rites, 
having  been  esta])lished  not  earlier  than  the 
year  1801,  it  is  at  this  day  the  most  popular 
and  most  extensively  diffused.  Supreme 
Councils  or  governing  bodies  of  the  Rite  are 
to  be  found  in  almost  every  civilized  coun- 
try of  the  world,  and  in  many  of  them  it  is 
the  only  Masonic  obedience."  It  was  con- 
structed at  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1801,  out  of 
the  twenty-five  degrees  of  the  Rite  of  Per- 
fection, Chapter  of  Clermont,  Paris,  1754, 
which  were  absorbed  by  the  Emperors  of 
the  East  and  West,  1758,  which  body 
granted  a  patent  in  1761  to  Stephen  Morin 
to  introduce  the  Rite  of  Perfection,  twenty- 
five  degrees,  into  the  West  Indies  and  Amer- 
ica. Reference  to  the  rise  and  progress  of 
the  fabrication  of  so-called  higher  Masonic 
degrees  in  France  and  elsewhere  on  the 
European  Continent  may  be  found  in  the 
outline  of  Masonic  rites  and  the  discussion 
of  the  origin  of  the  Royal  Arch  and  Knight 
Templar  degrees.  McClenachan  declares  * 
that  Morin's  patent  was  probably  the  first 
Masonic  document  of  the  kind  ever  issued. 
The  best  informed  Masonic  students  admit 
that  such  a  document  was  issued.  Accord- 
ing to  the  existing  copy,  it  empo^-ered  Morin 
to  confer  the  twenty-five  degrees  and  ap- 
point Inspectors  of  the  Rite  of  Perfection. 
Morin  was  an  Inspector  and  a  Sovereign 
Prince  Mason  (then  the  twenty-fifth,  now 
the  thirty-second  degree).  The  title  In- 
spector referred  to  an  office  and  not  a  degree. 
The  Morin  patent  was  signed  by  representa- 
tives of  the  Council  of  Emperors  of  the 
East  and  West  and  by  officials  of  the 
National  Grand  Lodge  of  France  who  were 
members  of  the  Council  of  Emperors.  In 
1772  the  Council  of  Emperors  united  with 
a  faction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  France, 
and  died  a  few  months  later.  The  Grand 
Lodge  of  France  declared,  in  1779,  that  it 

*  American  Appendix  to  Gould's  History  of  Free- 
masonry, vol.  iv.,  p.  626. 


44 


FREEMASONRY 


knew  nothing  of  ''high  degrees/'  and  in 
1786  formed  the  French  Rite  by  adding 
modifications  of  four  borrowed  Scottish  Rite 
degrees  to  the  three  symbolic  degrees,  which 
system  it  practises  to  this  day.  The  impor- 
tance of  this,  which  is  admitted  by  all 
except  partisan  chroniclers  who  have  axes 
to  grind,  or  are  in  need  of  dupes,  lies  in  the 
fact  tliat  existing  spurious  Scottish  Rite 
bodies  in  America  claim  authority  for  using 
the  Rite  of  Perfection  from  the  Grand  Ori- 
ent of  France.  Morin  landed  in  San  Do- 
mingo in  1762  or  1763,  and  in  the  same  year 
established  a  Council  of  Princes  of  the  Royal 
Secret,  25°,  and  created  Henry  Andrew 
Francken  Deputy  Inspector  for  North 
America,  25°,  who,  in  1767,  organized  a 
Lodge  of  Perfection  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  thus 
introducing  the  Rite  of  Perfection  on  the 
American  Continent.  This  Lodge  was  dor- 
mant from  1774  until  1821,  w4ien  it  was 
revived,  and  is  still  in  existence,  the  oldest 
high-grade  Masonic  organization  in  the 
world.  The  next  body  to  confer  Sublime  or 
Scottish  degrees  in  this  country  was  a  Lodge 
of  Perfection  at  Philadelphia  in  1781.  The 
work  of  creating  Inspectors,  25°,  of  the  Rite 
of  Perfection,  progressed  rapidly,  and  by 
the  end  of  the  century,  in  addition  to  nu- 
merous representative  American  chiefs  of 
the  Rite,  introduced  here  by  Morin  through 
Francken,  there  were  some  who  were  merely 
peddlers  of  degrees,  who  traveled  about 
the  country  making  twenty-fifth  degree 
Freemasons  "  at  sight,"''  for  a  price.  Ref- 
erence to  an  accompanying  chart  shows 
that  the  filiation  of  powers  over  the  Rite 
of  twenty-five  degrees  coming  from  Morin, 
took  two  courses  in  the  Western  world. 
On  the  one  hand  it  descended  through 
Francken  to  Hayes  (1767-1770),  with  power 
covering  North  America,  and  thence  to 
Spitzeras  Deputy  Inspector  (1781),  to  Cohen 
(1781),  Jacobs  (1790),  Long  and  Mitchell  (in 
1795),  and  to  De  Grasse  Tilly  in  179G.  On 
the  other,  Prevost,  who  was  created  Deputy 
Inspector  by  Francken  (1774),  conferred  the 
office  on  Du  Plessis  (1790),  who  made  Hac- 


quet  an  Inspector  in  1798.  From  the  latter, 
Du  Potet  received  the  Rite  in  1799,  and  Du 
Potet  made  Joseph  Cerneau  Deputy  Inspec- 
tor, 25°,  at  Baracoa  (1806),  "for  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  Island  of  Cuba.''  In  1783 
a  third  Grand  Lodge  of  Perfection  was  estab- 
lished at  Charleston  by  Isaac  Da  Costa,  who 
had  been  made  Deputy  Inspector  by  Hayes, 
and  in  1792  a  fourth  like  body  was  formed 
at  Baltimore  by  Henry  Williams.  In  1788 
a  Council  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem  (fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  degrees)  was  instituted  at 
Charleston  by  Joseph  Myers,  Deputy  In- 
spector with  authority  from  Hayes,  and 
in  1799  the  first  Grand  Council  of  Princes 
of  the  Royal  Secret,  25°,  was  formed  at 
Charleston  by  Hyman  Long  and  others, 
acting  under  authority  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
Rite  at  Kingston,  Jamaica,  which  action 
was  approved  by  the  latter  in  the  same 
year.  In  1797  Huet  La  Chelle,  Du  Potet, 
and  others  opened  "  La  Trij^le  Union " 
Sovereign  Chapter  Rose  Croix  of  H.  R. 
D.  M.,  of  Kilwinning,  Scotland,  at  New 
York  city.  This  was  not  the  Rose  Croix 
(eighteenth  degree)  of  the  Rite  of  Perfec- 
tion, which  is  now  the  eighteenth  degree  of 
the  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  but 
the  second  degree  of  the  Royal  Order  of 
Scotland.  La  Chelle  came  to  New  York 
from  San  Domingo  and  is  not  known  to 
have  had  any  authority  to  establish  a  Kil- 
winning Rose  Croix  Chapter,  except  by 
virtue  of  some  old  ritual  which  may  have 
fallen  into  his  hands. 

At  Charleston,  S.  C,  May  31,  1801, 
John  Mitchell  and  Frederick  Dalcho,  as 
Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors  General, 
opened  a  Supreme  Council  of  the  thirty- 
third  degree  for  the  United  States  of 
America.  The  Rite  of  Perfection,  twenty- 
five  degrees,  was  used  as  a  basis  for  the 
new,  the  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Rite, 
eight  degrees  being  added.  The  twenty- 
third  degree  in  the  old  Rite,  Knight  of  the 
Sun,  became  tlie  twenty-eighth  in  the  new 
one  ;  the  twenty-fourth.  Knight  Kadosch, 
became  the  thirtieth  ;  and  the  twenty-fifth. 


FREEMASONRY 


45 


Prince  of  the  Royal  Secret,  became  the 
thirty-second.  The  added  degrees  (except 
the  thirty-third)  Avere  selected  in  part 
from  existing  material,  and  now  rank  as 
the  twenty-third,  twenty-fourth,  twenty- 
fifth,  twenty-sixth,  twenty-seventh,  twenty- 
ninth,  and  thirty-first.  Members  of  the 
thirty-third  aud  last  degree  constitute  the 
chiefs  of  the  Eite.  The  new  Supreme 
Council  recognized  Morin's  patent  and  cre- 
ated Morin  a  Sovereign  Grand  Inspector, 
33°.  It  also  recognized  the  Grand  Consti- 
tutions of  1762,  supposed  to  have  been  for- 
warded to  Morin  after  he  left  France,  a  copy 
of  which  Morin  gave  Francken,  and  was  left 
by  the  latter  in  Albany  in  1767  ;  and  the 
Secret  Constitutions  of  May  1,  1786,  by 
which  Frederick  the  Great  was  made  the 
founder  of  the  Aucient,Accepted  Eite,  33°, 
supreme  power  descending  from  the  Em- 
peror of  Prussia  to  nine  brethren  of  each 
nation  to  act  as  Grand  Commanders  or  Sov- 
ereigns of  Masonry.  By  these  constitu- 
tions it  was  provided  that  there  should  be 
one  Supreme  Council,  33°,  for  each  state  or 
kingdom  in  Europe,  one  for  the  West  Indies, 
one  also  for  the  French  West  Indies,  and 
two  for  (the  United  States  of)  North 
America.  In  this  one  finds  the  origin 
of  the  power  in  the  rite  possessed  by  active 
thirty-third  degree  Freemasons.  The  Secret 
Constitutions  have  frequently  been  at- 
tributed to  the  Charleston  creators  of  the 
rite,  and  good  reasons  have  been  adduced 
to  show  that  Frederick  of  Prussia  never 
heard  of  them,  although  Pike  makes  a  strong 
argument  in  favor  of  their  royal  origin  in 
Prussia.  AVhatever  the  facts,  the  legend 
continues  as  virile  and  yet  as  innocuous  as 
that  which  attributes  so  much  to  our  ancient 
Grand  Master,  Solomon,  King  of  Israel,  in 
symbolic  and  Eoyal  Arch  degrees.  By  the 
end  of  1801  the  full  number  of  Sovereign 
Grand  Inspectors  General  was  completed, 
but  the  new  rite  was  not  formally  an- 
nounced to  the  world  until  1803.  In  1801 
a  Council  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem,  subordi- 
nate to  the  new  Supreme  Council  at  Charles- 


ton, established  a  Lodge  of  Perfection.  In 
February,  1802,  Count  A.  F.  A.  De  Grasse 
Tilly  was  granted  a  patent  by  tlie  Supreme 
Council  A.  A.  S.  E.,  33°  (mother  Council 
of  the  world),  to  constitute,  establish,  direct, 
and  inspect  Masonic  bodies  in  two  hemi- 
spheres. Under  this  he  organized  a  Su- 
preme Council  A.  A.  S.  E.,  33°,  in  San 
Domingo  in  1802  (which  did  not  live  beyond 
1803),  and  another,  the  third,  at  Paris,  in 
1804.  The  De  Grasse  Tilly  French  Supreme 
Council  continues  to  this  day  the  governing 
body  of  the  A.  A.  S.  E.,  33°,  in  France. 
It  carried  back  to  France  the  new  rite  of 
thirty-three  degrees,  founded  on  the  old 
Scottish  (French)  Eite  of  Perfection,  twenty- 
five  degrees,  as  something  entirely  new  and 
distinct,  a  Masonic  Eite,  as  such,  of  which 
France  had  no  previous  knowledge.  De 
Grasse  Tilly,  on  his  arrival  in  Paris,  found 
Germain  Hacquet,  25°  (see  chart  of  powers 
of  filiation),  who  had  established  the  Scot- 
tish Eite  of  Herodem,  an  offshoot  of  the 
unauthorized  Kilwinning  Rose  Croix  of 
Herodem,  founded  in  New  York  by  La 
Chelle  and  others  in  1797,  a  degree  of  the 
Eoyal  Order  of  Scotland,  having  no  connec- 
tion with  the  Eite  of  Perfection,  and,  of 
course,  none  with  the  A.  A.  S.  E.  of  1801. 
To  the  founding  of  the  new  French  Supreme 
Council,  Hacquet  and  his  Eose  Croix  pro- 
ject offered  an  obstacle  and  were  promptly 
absorbed.  The  old  Eite  of  Perfection 
had  been  forgotten  in  France,  and  came 
back  with  eight  more  degrees — an  absolute 
stranger.  The  right  of  Mitchell,  Dalcho, 
and  others  to  organize  a  new  rite  of  thirty- 
three  degrees  may  hardly  be  called  in  ques- 
tion. The  old  Eite  of  Perfection  had  no 
governing  body,  had  been  forgotten  in 
Europe,  and  a  new  rite  had  been  created  aud 
carried  to  France,  where  the  Grand  Orient, 
governing  a  French  system  of  seven  degrees, 
was  the  only  Grand  Body  in  existence.  The 
Grand  Orient,  alarmed  at  the  prestige  of 
and  the  prospects  for  success  of  the  new  rite 
of  thirty-three  degrees,  a  system  containing 
more  degrees  than  had  ever  been  constructed 


46 


FREEMASONRY 


before,  made  overtures  for  harmony,  particu- 
larly as  it  had  utilized  in  its  own  system, 
without  warrant,  a  modification  of  the  old 
Kite  of  Perfection  Kose  Croix  degree,  the 
eighteenth  in  both  that  and  the  A.  A.  S.  R. 
It  certainly  could  have  no  claim  to  all  of 
the  thirty-three  degrees,  seven  of  which  it 
knew  nothing  about  oflBcially,  and  one, 
nothing  about  whatever.  The  result  was 
a  concordat,  December  5,  1804,  by  which 
the  Grand  Orient  was  to  have  the  right  to 
confer  the  first  eighteen  degrees ;  but  in 
1805  the  Grand  Orient  broke  the  agreement 
and  claimed  the  right  to  control  thirty-three 
degrees.  This  was  resisted,  and  a  long 
quarrel  followed.  In  1814,  the  Supi-eme 
Council  being  weakened  by  the  loss  of  many 
influential  members  (Bonapartists),  the 
Grand  Orient,  by  a  coup  d'etat,  usurped 
control  of  the  thirty-three  degrees,  where- 
upon the  Supreme  Council  retaliated  by 
resuming  control  of  all  the  degrees  from 
the  fourth  to  the  eighteenth,  inclusive. 

Political  conditions  in  France  resulted  in 
the  Supreme  Council  becoming  dormant 
between  1814  and  1821,  during  which  in- 
terval and  subsequent  thereto  the  Grand 
Orient  claimed  to  control  thirty-three  de- 
grees, until  1862,  when  peace  was  restored 
and  the  Grand  Orient  retired  to  its  proper 
sphere.  The  action  of  the  Grand  Orient 
between  1814  and  1862  may  be  likened  to 
an  attemjit  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New 
York  State  to  confer  the  degrees  controlled 
by  the  Grand  Chapter  or  by  the  Grand 
Commaudery. 

In  1806  Antoine  Bideaud,  33°,  created 
a  Sovereign  Grand  Inspector  General  in 
the  Supreme  Council  instituted  by  Count 
De  Grasse  Tilly  at  San  Domingo,  in  1803 
(but  without  authority  to  act  on  the 
continent  of  North  America),  organized  a 
Sovereign  Grand  Consistory,  S.  P.  E.  S. 
32",  at  New  York  city,  of  which  notice 
was  sent  to  the  mother  Supreme  Coun- 
cil at  Charleston.  Bideaud  had  no  right 
to  organize  a  Masonic  body  in  New  York, 
but   he   was   a   thirty-third    degree  Mason 


under  the  authority  of  a  Supreme  Council 
created  by  the  Charleston  mother  Supreme 
Council,  and  his  New  York  Consistory  was 
afterwards  made  regular  by  the  Charleston 
body.  In  1807  Joseph  Cerneaii,  a  French 
immigrant,  who  had  received  the  twenty- 
five  degrees  of  the  Rite  of  Perfection  from 
Mathieu  du  Potet  at  Baracoa,  Cuba,  in 
1806,  organized  a  "  Grand  Consistory  of 
Sublime  Princes  of  the  Royal  Secret'"  of  the 
''Scottish  Rite  of  Herodem."  Cerneau 
utilized  the  Rose  Croix  Chapter  '"'La  Triple 
Union  "  of  1797,  which  was  not  a  Scottish 
Rite  body,  in  building  up  his  Consistory. 
Reference  to  an  accompanying  chart,  and  to 
Cerneau's  patent,  shows  that  he  had  only 
the  twenty-five  degrees  of  the  Rite  of  Per- 
fection when  he  did  this.  For  that  matter, 
he  did  not,  at  that  time,  claim  to  have  the 
thirty-three  degrees  of  the  Ancient,  Accepted 
Rite.  In  1808  the  Bideaud  body  issued  to 
J.  G.  Tardy  a  patent  as  Illustrious  Com- 
mander, etc.,  under  the  statutes,  etc.,  of  the 
Supreme  Tribunal  of  Sovereign  Grand  In- 
spectors General,  which,  while  Bideaud  was 
not  authorized  to  do  so,  is  important  as  show- 
ing that  the  sublime  degrees,  as  created  by 
the  A.  A.  S.  R.  Supreme  Council  at  Charles- 
ton, were  being  conferred  in  New  York 
city  at  that  date.  In  1812  Joseph  Cerneau 
organized  at  New  York  a  Supreme  Council 
of  Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors  General, 
33°,  for  the  United  States  of  America,  its 
Territories  and  Dependencies,  with  himself 
as  Most  Puissant  Sovereign  Grand  Com- 
mander, and  from  this  assumption  on  his 
part  grew  the  dissension  in  Scottish  Rite 
Masonry  in  the  United  States  which  marked 
many  succeeding  years.  Even  a  tyro  at 
controversy  might  well  ask  where  did  the 
man  of  the  twenty-five  degrees  of  the  Rite  of 
Perfection  get  his  title,  "  Sovereign  Grand 
Inspector  General,"  and  his  ''thirty-third 
degi'ee"  ?  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  assumed 
them  with  the  same  effrontery  that  Cagli- 
ostro,  after  receiving  the  three  symbolic 
degrees,  invented  his  "ancient"  Egyptian 
Rite,  with  the  sole  difference  that  the  Italian 


FREEMASONRY 


47 


impostoi'  bad  the  decency  to  create  some- 
thing instead  of  pretending  to  possess  de- 
grees which  did  not  belong  to  him  and  which 
he  did  not  have.  Ccrneaii  dupes,  and  others, 
have  declared  that  Cerneau  received  his 
patent  from  one  Martin,  "a  successor  of 
Morin,''  who,  they  allege,  had  his  patent 
recalled  by  the  Emperors  of  the  East  and 
West  in  176G.  Cerneau's  patent  itself  is 
sufficient  refutation,  but  just  what  advan- 
tage would  have  been  gained  by  Cerneau  if 
it  had  been  so,  is  not  clear.  Martin  is  un- 
known to  the  Masonic  world  other  than  to 
purveyors  of  Cerneau  gold  bricks.  Cerneau 
received  his  patent  as  Inspector,  25°,  from 
Du  Potet,  and  Du  Potet  his  from  Du  Plcs- 
sis.  Du  Plcssis  was  made  a  thirty-third 
degree  Freemason  b}"  Du  Grasse  Tilly,  in 
1802,  three  years  after  he  had  created  Du 
Potet  an  Inspector,  and  fully  four  years  be- 
fore Du  Potet  gave  Cerneau  his  patent.  Why 
did  Du  Plessis  feel  it  necessary  to  get  an- 
other patent  in  order  to  secure  the  thirty- 
third  degree  of  the  A.  A.  S.  R.  ?  Yet  Du 
Plessis  was  the  Masonic  grandfather  of 
Cerneau. 

The  chiefs  of  the  Bideaud  (New  York) 
body,  among  others,  were  J.  G.  Tardy,  J.  J. 
J.  Gourgas,  and  J.  B.  Desdoity,  to  whom 
Bideaud  gave  the  thirty-second  degree  ;  yet 
they  soon  found  they  Avere  not  regular,  be- 
cause of  Bideaud's  lack  of  authority  in  New 
York,  and  were  healed  at  Philadelphia,  in 
1807  and  1808,  by  Du  Plessis,  who  received 
the  thirty-third  degree  in  1802,  from  De 
Grasse  Tilly.  It  was  in  1813  that  Emanuel 
De  la  Motta,  a  Sovereign  Grand  Inspector 
General  of  the  mother  Supreme  Council, 
A.  A.  S.  R.,  33°,  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  arrived 
in  New  York  with  full  power  from  the 
mother  Supreme  Council,  when,  with  the 
aid  of  those  who  had  been  connected  with 
the  Bideaud  body,  he  organized  the  Supreme 
Council,  A.  A.  S.  R.,  33°  (the  second  in  the 
United  States),  for  the  Northern  Jurisdic- 
tion, with  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  afterward 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  in  the 
Grand  East. 


The  Cerneau  body,  a  Sovereign  Consistory, 
at  first  produced  its  Supreme  Council  attach- 
ment in  1812.  It  was  more  active  than  the 
De  la  Motta  body.  It  naturally  ignored  the 
Charleston  Supreme  body,  and  corresponded 
with  the  Grand  Orient  of  France  at  a  period 
when  that  body  was  most  anxious  to  recog- 
nize a  claimant  of  any  Masonic  rite,  as  it  was 
engaged  in  an  effort  to  disrupt  the  Su])reme 
Council  of  France  and  so  monopolize  the 
latter's  system  of  thirty-three  degrees.  The 
character  of  the  Cerneau  body  of  1814  is 
illustrated  by  its  presuming  to  organize  the 
Grand  Encam])ment  of  Knights  Templars 
of  New  York.  Notwithstanding  neither 
the  Supreme  Council,  Northern  Jurisdic- 
tion, or  the  Cerneau  body  made  much  effort 
to  popularize  the  rite  prior  to  18C0,  the  latter 
skilfully  advertised  itself,  going  so  far  as  to 
deceive  De  Witt  Clinton  into  accepting  of- 
fice, a  position  which  he  held  several  years 
without  ever  filling  it  or  ever  being  present 
at  a  meeting.  Mackey  explains  that  Clinton 
became  "unwittingly  complicated"  with 
the  spurious  (Cerneau)  "Consistory,"  and 
states  how,  but  "took  no  active  part  "in  it, 
and  soon  "  withdrew  from  all  connection 
with  it."  A  chronological  synopsis  of  the 
more  important  events  in  the  careers  of 
Supreme  Councils  prior  to  1863  is  given  as 
follows  : 


A.  A.  S.  R.— U.  S.  A. 

Southern  Jmisdiction . 

1801. 

Charleston,  S.  C,  Supreme 
Council  of  the  I'uited  States, 
foriiK'd  by  Count  A.  F.  A. 
De  (irasso  Tilly,  John  Mitchell, 
J.  K.  I)elaho>ru(',  and  Fred- 
erick I)alcho  ;  Mitchell,  Grand 
Commander. 

1802. 

Tableau  that  year  showB 
nine  Sovereign  Grand  Inspect- 
ors General. 

1807. 

Seven  Sovereign  Grand  In- 
spectors General. 


IRREGULAR  SCOTTISH 
RITE  BODIES. 


1811. 

New  Orleans.  Grand  Con- 
sistory P.  K.  S.  ;£2°,  oreanizc<l 
hy^  regular  Supremo  Council  at 
Kingston,  preceding  Cerneau 
invasion  of  the  South. 


48 


FREEMASONRY 


A.  A.  S.  R.-U.  S.  A. 
Southei'n  Jurisdiction. 

.  1813. 
Commissioned  Emanuel  De 
la  Motia  to  organize  a  Su- 
preme Council  at  New  York 
city  for  Northern  Jurisdiction, 
wHicli  was  done. 

1822. 
Corresponded  with  Northern 
Supreme       Council      through 
Bouse  and  Holbrook.  Commit- 
tee on  Correepomlence. 

1823-24. 
Frederick     Dalcho,     Grand 
Commander. 


IRREGULAR  SCOTTISH 
RITE  BODIES. 

1813-55. 
New  Orleans.  A  Cerneau 
Scottish  Kite  body  appc:ucd  in 
1813  (two  years  after  the  Kings- 
ton Rose  Croix  Chapter).  After 
a  fight  of  forty  years  (during 
which,  in  1830,  "it  became  in- 
dependent), in  which  it  antag- 
onized the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Louisiana  by  assuming  to  war- 
rant Lodges  and  confer  the 
three  symbolic  degrees,  it 
united  with  the  regular  Con- 
sistory at  New  Orleans,  formed 
by  the  Supreme  Council,  South- 
ern Jurisdiction,  at  Charleston. 


1825. 
G.  F.  Yates  created  a  Sover- 
eign Grand  Inspector  General. 

1827. 

Acknowledged  receipt  of 
documents  from  Northern  Su- 
preme Council  and  partitioned 
ITnited  States  between  itself 
and  Northern  Supreme  Coun- 
cil. 

1828-32. 

Corresponded  with  Grand 
Orient  of  France  until  1832. 
(Dormant  1832  to  1844.) 

1844. 
Alexander  McDonald,  Grand 
Commander. 

18.%. 
John  Henry  Honour,  Grand 
Commander. 


1859. 

Albert    Pike,    Grand    Com- 
mander. 

1892. 
James  C.  Batchelor,  Grand 
Commander. 

1893. 
Philip    C.    Tucker,    Grand 
Commander. 

1897. 
Thomas  H.   Caswell,  Grand 
Commander. 


1856. 
New  Orleans.     Poulhouze'e 
spurious  Consistory  formed ; 
short-lived. 


A.  A.  S.  R.— U.  S.  A. 
Northern  Jurisdiction. 

1806. 
New  York  city.  Grand  Con- 
sistory, P.  R.  S.  (by  A.  Bi- 
deaud  of  San  Domingo  Su- 
preme Council,  established  by 
De  Grasse  Tilly  of  the  Charles- 
ton Supreme  Council),  after- 
wards regularized  by  Southern 
Supreme  Council. 


SCOTTISH  RITE  OF  HERO- 
DEM— U.  S.  A. 

Cerneau. 


New  York  city.  Council, 
Princes  of  Jerusalem,  estab- 
lished by  Abraham  Jacobs. 

New  York  city.  Aurora  Grata 
Grand  Lodge  of  Perfection. 


A.  A.  S.  R.-U.  S.  A. 
Noi'thern  Jurisdiction. 

1811. 
New    Orleans.     Chapter   of 
Rose  Croix,  established  by  au- 
thority    from     the     Supreme 
Council  at  Kingston. 


SCOTTISH  RITE  OF  HERO- 
DEM— U.  S.  A. 


1813. 

New  York  city.  Bideaud 
Consistory  organized  into  the 
Northern  Jurisdiction  Su- 
premeCouncil  Sovereign  Grand 
Inspectors  General,  33°,  by  au- 
thority of  Charleston  Supreme 
Council. 

1822. 

Letter  received  from  Com- 
mittee on  Correspondence  of 
Southern  Supreme  Council  by 
D.  D.  Tompkins  of  Northern 
Supreme  Council. 

1825. 
J.  J.  J.  Gourgas,  actineMost 
PuissantSovereign  GrandCom- 
mander. 

1826. 
Northern  Supreme    Council 
received  oaths  of  fealty  from 
Camague,    Lawrence,    and 
others. 

1827. 
Southern  Supreme    Council 
acknowledged  receipt  of  docu- 
ments from  Nortliern  Supreme 
Council. 

1827. 
Southern  Supreme  Council 
recognized  States  north  of  Ma- 
son and  Dixon  line  and  cast  of 
the  Mississippi  River  ae  terri- 
tory of  the  Northern  Supreme 
Council. 

1'828. 
Northern  Supreme    Council 
received  oath  of   fealty  from 
G.   P.   Yates  of  Southern  Su- 
preme Council. 

Alliance  between  the  Grand 
Orient  of  France  and  the 
Northern  and  Southern  Su- 
preme Councils. 

1830. 
Cerneau's  name  struck  from 
the  Tableau  of  the  Grand  Ori- 
ent of  France. 


1812. 
Supreme  Council,  Sovereign 
Grand  Inspectors  Gteneral,  33°, 
for  United  States  of  America, 
their  Territories  and  Depend- 
encies, formed  two  years  be- 
fore hearing  from  the  Grand 
Orient  of  France,  from  which 
Cerneau,  after  1814,  claimed  to 
have  received  the  thirty-third 
degree. 


1807. 
New  York  city.  Joseph  Cer- 
neau opened  a  Sovereign  Grand 
Consistory,  P.  R.  S.,  25°,  which 
claimed  to  revive  a  preexist- 
ing Rose  Croix  Chapter,  Royal 
Order  Scotland. 


1827. 
Cerneau  body  became  dor- 
mant and  was  allowed  to  die. 


1844. 

Northern  Supreme  Council 
revived  ;  J.  J.  J.  Gourgas,  Most 
Puissant  Sovereign  Grand 
Commander.  (Met  annually 
thereafter.) 


1832. 
Revived  by  A.  Laurent  of 
France  as  United  Supreme 
Council,  etc.,  for  the  Western 
Hemisphere,  and  confederated 
with  Supreme  Council  of  Bra- 
zil. Elias  Hicks,  Most  Puissant 
Sovereign  Grand  Commander. 

1836. 
Alleged  confederation  with 
Supreme  Council  of  France. 


FREEMASONRY 


49 


A.  A.  8.  R— U.  S.  A. 
Northern  Jurisdiction. 

1845. 
Northern   Supreme    Council 
issued  charter  for  a  Supreme 
Council  for  England. 


SCOTTISH  RITE  OF  HERO- 
DEM-U.  8.  A. 


1860. 
Gourgas   resigned    and    ap- 
pointecf  Giles    Fonda    Yates 
Most  Puissant  Sovereign  Grand 
Commander. 


1851. 
G.  F.  Yates  resigned  and  ap- 
pointed E.  A.  Raymond  Most 
Puissant  Sovereign  Grand 
Commander.  The  Grand  East 
was  removed  from  New  York 
city  to  Boston. 


1857. 
Northern  Supreme   Council 
recognized  the  Supreme  Coun- 
cil of  V'enezuela. 


1860. 
Boston.    Northern  Supreme 
Council  (owing  to  dissensions) 
declared    closed   sine   die    by 
Raymond,  August  25Jd. 

Boston.  Raymond  (with 
RobiuMon)  rcorgiinizcs  a  North- 
ern Siiprcnie  Council. 

1861. 
Rjiyinoiid  deposed  as  Sover- 
eign Grand  Coniniander  by  the 
Provisional  Supreme  Conricil. 

1862. 
Van   Rensselaer,  Lieutenant 
Grand      Commander,     elected 
Sovereign  Grand  Commander, 
vice  Raymond  deposed. 


1846. 
United  Supreme  Council  dis- 
solved ;  went  otit  of  existence, 
and  divided  funds  among  four 
out  of  the  Ave  remaining  mem- 
bers. (Genuine  Cerneau  bodies 
terminate  here.) 

1850. 

IT.  C.  Atvvood  (an  expelled 
Master  Mason,  who  claimed  to 
have  receiveil  thirty-third  de- 
gree patent  from  a  traveling 
Scottish  Kite  lecturer  *)  organ- 
ized a  Supreme  Council,  etc., 
for  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica, Territories,  and  Dependen- 
cies, without  cooperation  of 
any  member  of  the  Hicks 
body. 

1851. 

Atwood  succeeded  by  J.  L. 
Cross  of  Southern  Supreme 
Council,  who  soon  found  him- 
self misplaced  and  withdrew. 

1852. 
Atwood  succeeded  Cross  and 
changed  the  name  to  Supreme 
Council, etc.,  for  the  Sovereign, 
Free,  and  Independent  State 
of  New  York. 

1854. 
Name  again  changed  to  Su- 
preme Council,  etc.,   for    the 
United  States  of  America,  Ter- 
ritories, and  Dependencies. 


1858. 
Name  changed  for  the  fifth 
time,  to  Supreme  Council,  etc., 
for  Western  Hemisphere. 

1860. 
E.  B.  Hays,  by  appointment 
of  Atwood,  succeeds  latter  at 
his  death. 


*  William  Sewall  (Jardner,  *}",  Massachusetts,  in  appendix 
to  the  Proceedings  of  the  Northern  Jurisdiction,  on  spurious 
Supreme  Councils  in  the  Northern  Jurisdiction,  says  that  H. 
C.  Atwood  (as  well  as  K.  B.  Folger)  went  to  Trenton,  jjiior  to 
1840,  among  a  p.'irty,  all  of  whom  paid  ten  dollars  and  got  the 
thirty  third  degree  from  Abraham  .Jacobs  (e.xpt'lled),  who  had 
spent  nearly  forty  years  peddling  Scottish  Hile  degrees  il- 
legally. They  went  to  Trenton,  because  Jacobs  had  agreed 
with  the  Cerneau  i>eoi)le  for  a  price  not  to  peddle  his  desrrees 
within  sixty  miles  of  New  York.  Atwood  is  said  to  have'-  in- 
herited "  Jacobs'  trunk  of  rituals.  Here,  then,  is  the  probable 
origin  of  the  Cerneau  Kite  of  18f)0-180)i,  for  Atwood  started  it 
as  Its  comniaiKler,  without  an  officer  of  any  preceding  Cerneau 
body  to  legitimatize  him. 


"Scottish      CekneauRite,     A.  A.  S.  R.  A.  A.  S.  H. 

Rites"  AMONG     "Scottish."           Northern  Southern 

Negroes.                                         Masonic  .Masonic 

Jurisdiction.  Jurisfliction. 


New  York. 
(Without  au- 
thority.) 
1806. 


Charleston, 
S.  C. 


1801 


o         «  o 
"  ME 

o        1-1  *:; 


f5  oO 


New  York. 

(Authorized.) 

1813. 


186.3. 


o  2     = 


i 


Schism. 

ISfiO. 


18«.3.    i 


Rcor^ani-  = 

zatioii,     3 

186*;.       = 


Seymour's 

Spurious 

Cerneau  Rite, 

N.Y.City,  1879. 


Hopkins 
Thomj)- 

son 

Bodv, 

NY'.,i881. 


Consol- 
idation. 
1867. 


(crea- 
ted). 


Neuro         "Cekneai'" 
"Scottish  "Scoltisli 

Rite  "Bodies.   Rite"  Bodies. 
(Irregular.)    (Unauthorized.) 


White  and  Negro  Spurious 
Bodies,  recognized  nowhere. 


Anc.  .\ccepted  Scottish  Rite. 

Northern  Southern 

Jurisdictions,  U.  8.  A. 


Regular  Bodies,  universally 
recognized. 


1761 
1762 


1781 


1798 

1799 
1801 

1808 
1806 
1808 


Stephek  Mohim,  25°, 
Inspector  for  America,  Rite  1  of  Perfection,  Paris,  1761. 

Hekbt  a.  Franceen,  25',  Jackmel,  Jamaica,  1762. 
Dep.  Inspector  (or       North  America. 


M.  M.  Hays,  25\  Boston, 
1767-70,  Dep.  Ids.  for  North  America. 


Aug.  Prevost,  25°,  Dep.  Ins., 
Jamaica.     1774. 


P.  Le  B.  Du  Plessis,  25°,  Dep.  Ins 
PUlla.  1790. 


•  B.  Spftzer,  25',  Dep.  for  Georgia, 

Pliila.       I     1781. 
'  M.  Cohen,  S5°,'Phlla.,  1781. 


Abr.  Jacobs,  25°,  Jamaica,"  1790. 


John  Mitchell,  25°,  Dep.  for  S.  C. 
Charleston,  1795. 


Germain  Hacquet,  25° 
Phila.        1798. 


Mathieu  Du  Potet,  25° 
Port  Republic,  1799. 


Hym.  I.  Long,  25°,  Phila.,  1795. 

A.  F.  A.  De  Grasse  TiUy,  25»,  Chwleston 
1796 


Fred'k  Dalcho,  33°,  S.  Q.  I.  G 
CharlestoB,  1801. 


A.  F.  A.  De  Grasse  Tilly.  33°:  S.  G.  I.  G.         •"■  ^-  ^  ^"  ^"^"''^Z'/- ,^-  ^2,•, 
Charleston,  1801.  Charleston,  1801. 


Joseph  Cerneau,  25°, 
Baracoa,  July,  1806. 


Antolne  Bideaud.  33°,  S.  G.  I.  G. 
Jamaica        1802, 

n.  O.  Tardt,  ^ 

J.  J.  J.  GouRGAS,  and 
J.  B.  Desijoity,  32°. 
Deo.  Insp., ,  New  York   1806. 


P.  Le  B.  Du  Plessis,  38°  S.  G.  I.  G. 
PhUa.         1     1802. 


■ 

'Tardv,  Gooroab,  and  Desdoity, 
NewYork  1807-8. 


M.  L.  M.  PeUotto,  82°.  N.  Y.,  1806. 


1761 


1774 


1790 


1796 


1803 


1808 


CHART    SHOWING    THE   SUCCESSION   OF  AUTHORITY  AMONG  THE  ORIGINAL. 

CHIEFS   OF    "SCOTTISH"   FREEMASONRY   IN    THE    UNITED   STATES, 

AND    AMONG    THE    EARLIER    POSSESSORS    OF    THE    33d 

DEGREE,  ANCIENT  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 


FREEMASONRY 


51 


In  1862  there  were  four  Supreme  Coun- 
cils in  the  United  States — that  of  the  South- 
ern Jurisdiction,  at  Charleston,  the  orig- 
inator of  the  rite  of  thirty-tiiree  degrees; 
the  Van  Rensselaer  and  the  Raymond  rival 
bodies,  each  chiiming  to  be  the  Supreme 
Council  for  the  Northern  Jurisdiction  ;  and, 
fourth,  the  Cerneau  Supreme  Council,  "for 
the  United  States  of  America,  its  Territories 
and  Dependencies."  The  first  three  held 
fraternal  relations  with  like  bodies  in  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  Ireland,  France,  Belgium, 
and  in  Central  and  South  American  coun- 
tries. An  active  warfare  was  in  progress 
between  the  Van  Rensselaer  and  Raymond 
Councils,  with  the  former  apparently  the 
more  successful  in  creating  subordinate 
bodies  and  obtaining  new  members.  On 
April  2,  1862,  the  Cerneau  body  made 
overtures  to  the  Raymond  Supreme  Coun- 
cil looking  to  union,  though  some  chron- 
iclers (Cerneau  members)  say  the  Raymond 
people  made  the  advances.  In  any  event, 
each  side  appointed  a  conference  committee, 
which  committees  met  and  reported  in  favor 
of  union,  whereupon  the  committees  were 
continued  with  full  power  to  act.  On 
April  13,  1863,  complete  union  was  effected 
under  the  title  by  which  the  Cerneau  body 
had  been  known.  Supreme  Council  for  the 
United  States  of  America,  etc.,  with  E. 
B.  Hays,  who  had  been  at  the  head  of 
the  Cerneau  body,  as  the  Grand  Com- 
mander of  the  union  Council.  The  contin- 
uation of  the  name  Supreme  Council  for 
the  United  States  of  America,  etc.,  with 
Hays  at  the  head  of  the  new  Supreme 
Council,  should  not  be  regarded  as  an  evi- 
dence that  the  Cerneau  organization  swal- 
lowed the  Raymond  body.  This  is  plainly 
shown  by  all  the  members  of  both  the  unit- 
ing bodies  taking  an  oath  of  fealty,  and  all 
the  subordinate  organizations  of  the  Cer- 
neau and  of  the  Raymond  Councils  sur- 
rendering their  old  charters  to,  and  tak- 
ing out  new  charters  from  the  new,  or 
united  Supreme  Council.  More  than  this, 
it  will  be  recalled  that  offices  of  both  the 


Supreme  Councils  were  then  held  ad  vitam, 
and  that  at  the  union  those  oflBces  were  va- 
cated and  refilled,  after  which  the  incum- 
bents were  duly  installed.  No  more  com- 
plete or  perfect  action  could  have  been 
taken  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  union 
Supreme  Council  of  1863  was  a  newly 
formed  body.  Whether  its  members  then 
regarded  its  authority  as  based  on  Cerneau's 
assumption  of  power  in  1806,  or  on  De  la 
Motta's  action  at  New  York  in  1813,  is  im- 
material. By  1865  the  Civil  War  had 
ended,  and  the  rival  Supreme  Councils  at 
the  North — the  Van  Rensselaer  and  the 
united  Cerneau-Raymond  bodies — were  anx- 
ious for  recognition  from  the  mother 
Supreme  Council  at  Charleston  ;  if  for  no 
other  reason,  to  secure  regularity  and  ex- 
clusive territorial  jurisdiction.  It  was  in 
this  year,  too,  that  Harry  J.  Seymour  was 
defeated  for  office  in  the  Cerneau-Raymond 
Supreme  Council  and  afterward  expelled 
for  cause.  Following  this,  two  committees 
were  appointed,  one  to  visit  the  Supreme 
Council  at  Charleston,  witli  a  view  to  secur- 
ing recognition,  and  the  other  to  consider 
the  advisability  of  changing  the  name  of  the 
body  from  "for  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica,*' etc.,  to  Northern  Jurisdiction,  for  it  was 
realized  that  no  overtures  to  the  Supreme 
Council,  Southern  Jurisdiction,  would  be  re- 
ceived from  a  body  claiming  jurisdiction 
throughout  the  country.  On  October  22, 
1865,  the  latter  committee  reported  in  favor 
of  that  change  in  name,  and  the  rejjort  was 
unanimously  adopted.  Hopkins  Thompson, 
who,  in  1881,  led  a  revolt  over  this  very 
point,  was  present.  That  the  action  was 
taken  in  order  to  secure  recognition  from 
the  Southern  Supreme  Council,  and  thus 
pave  the  way  to  self-preservation,  is  shown 
by  the  united  Supreme  Council  at  its  next 
session  receiving  and  welcoming  a  visi- 
tor from  the  Southern  Supreme  Council. 
Late  in  the  same  year  the  committee  to 
visit  the  Cluirleston  Supreme  Council  re- 
ported that  the  latter  declined  to  recognize 
Hays,  who  represented  an  illegal  (the  Cer- 


52 


FREEMASONRY 


iieau)  boch',  and  that  it  did  not  regard  the 
union  of  18G3  as  legal,  because  Eaymond 
(who  had  died  in  18G4)  had  been  illegally 
deposed  as  the  Sovereign  Grand  Commander 
of  the  only  legal  Northern  Supreme  Coun- 
cil (by  the  Van  Eensselaer  body  in  1861), 
and  that  Kobinson  alone  (Lieutenant  Grand 
Commander  of  the  old  Raymond  body),  now 
Lieutenant  Grand  Commander  of  the  united 
Cerneau-Raymond  body,  could  succeed  Ray- 
mond. Hays  thereupon  resigned  his  office, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Robinson  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  majority  of  all  the  officers  and 
members  of  the  Supreme  Council.  But  this 
was  not  to  suffice.  The  Van  Rensselaer 
schism  was  in  existence  and  prosperous, 
numbering  among  its  officers  several  former 
ad  vitam  officials  of  the  Raymond  Supreme 
Council  of  1860,  the  only  Supreme  Council 
the  Southern  body  could  recognize.  Com- 
plete union  was  therefore  necessary,  and  to 
accomplish  it,  reorganization  of  the  Cerneau- 
Raymond  body  was  necessary.  Robinson, 
therefore,  as  successor  of  Raj^mond,  called  a 
special  meeting  of  the  old  Raymond  Council 
at  Boston,  December  11,  1860.  ]\rostof  the 
officers  of  the  latter  were  members  of  the 
Van  Rensselaer  Council,  and  naturally  de- 
clined to  be  present,  where ajDon  Robinson, 
in  strict  accord  with  his  prerogative,  filled 
the  vacancies  from  among  the  twelve  active 
and  ten  honorary  members  of  the  united 
Cerneau-Raymond  Supreme  Council  who 
were  present.  Men  of  whom  the  Avorld  at 
large  has  never  heard,  to  whom  self  rather 
than  fraternity  has  been  a  creed,  who  have 
hankered  for  Masonic  office  and  the  oppor- 
tunity to  peddle  degrees  and  titles  rather 
than  for  the  union  and  prosperity  of  the 
Craft,  have  held  that  this  action  of  Robin- 
son at  Boston  amounted  merely  to  the  dis- 
solution of  the  Cerneau-Raymond  Council. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  not  only  a  disso- 
lution of  it,  but  a  reorganization  of  the 
Cerneau-Raymond  body  in  order  to  make 
the  latter  regular  under  the  statutes  and 
regulations,  the  recognition  of  honesty  in 
fraternity  politics  as  opposed  to  assumption 


and  deception.  The  reorganized  Cerneau- 
Raymond  Council  thus  honestly  acquired 
what  it  had  unanimously  resolved  to  secure 
the  year  before,  the  title  "Northern  Juris- 
diction," in  place  of  "United  States  of 
America,  its  Territories  and  Dependencies," 
That  the  action  at  Boston  in  1866  was  not 
regarded  by  those  present  as  a  coiqj,  in  order 
to  merely  revive  the  old  Northern,-  or  Ray- 
mond, Supreme  Council  and  swallow  the 
Cerneau-Raymond  Council,  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  all  the  officers  of  the  latter  were  re- 
elected, and  that  no  oaths  of  fealty  were  re- 
quired. Overtures  were  then  made  looking 
to  a  union  with  the  Van  Rensselaer  Supreme 
Council.  Committees  to  consider  the  pro- 
ject were  appointed  by  each  body,  which  met 
at  Boston  in  1867,  just  prior  to  the  annual 
session  of  the  Van  Rensselaer  Supreme  Coun- 
cil. After  prolonged  conference,  during 
which  it  seemed  at  times  as  if  the  outcome 
could  only  be  failure,  a  treaty  of  union  was 
agreed  to,  which  Avas  ratified  by  both  Su- 
preme Councils  and  approved  by  all  the 
honorary  members.  After  rescinding  acts  of 
expulsion  based  on  former  differences,  the 
two  Supreme  Councils  ratified  each  other's 
acts,  and  Josiah  H.  Drummond  of  Maine 
was  elected  Most  Puissant  Sovereign  Grand 
Commander  of  the  (consolidated)  Supreme 
Council,  Northern  Jurisdiction,  by  concur- 
rent vote  of  the  two  bodies,  which  came  to- 
gether as  one.  The  oath  of  fealty  was  then 
taken  to  the  consolidated  Supreme  Council 
by  eighty  members  present.  The  career  of 
this  Sujireme  Council  ever  since  has  been 
one  of  harmony  and  prosperity,  and  it  is 
to-day  the  largest  body  of  the  kind  in  the 
world,  numbering  more  than  25,000  thirty- 
second  degree  members,  about  one-fifth  of 
the  total  number  of  Scottish  Rite  Freemasons 
in  the  world.  Among  Sovereign  Princes  of 
the  Royal  Secret,  32°,  and  Sovereign  Grand 
Inspectors  General,  33°,  of  the  Northern  and 
Southern  Jurisdictions,  United  States  of 
Abierica,  are  to  be  found  many  of  the  most 
illustrious  of  those  who  re2)resent  the  pro- 
fessions, the  army  and  navy,  and  financial. 


FREEMASONRY 


53 


commercial,  and  industrial  life.  The  two 
Supreme  Councils  who  now  divide  between 
them  the  United  States  of  America,  its 
territories  and  dependencies,  hold  amicable 
relations  with  Supreme  Councils  of  the  A. 
A.  S.  R.  for  England,  Scotland,  Ireland, 
France,  Belgium,  Spain,  Portugal,  Italy, 
Greece,.  Switzerland,  Brazil,  Argentine  Re- 
public, Uruguay,  Peru,  United  States  of 
Colombia,  Chili,  Central  America,  Cuba, 
Mexico,  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  Egypt, 
and  Tunis. 

The  degrees  of  the  Ancient,  Accepted 
Scottish  Eite,  from  the  fourth  to  the  thirty- 
second,  inclusive,  are  conferred  in  the  North- 
ern Masonic  Jurisdiction,  United  States  of 
America,  in  four  bodies,  and  make  of  the 
Master  Mason  a  Sublime  Prince  of  the  Royal 
Secret.  Grand  Lodges  of  Perfection,  not 
Grand  Lodges  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the 
words,  induct  candidates  into  the  mysteries 
of  eleven  ineffable  degrees,  fourth  to  four- 
teenth, inclusive,  of  which  the  first  nine  are 
additions  to  and  explanations  and  elabora- 
tions of  the  second  section  of  the  Master's 
degree,  so  familiar  to  all  Freemasons.  The 
names  of  the  thirty-three  degrees  of  Scottish 
Rite  Freemasonry  are  given  in  full  in  an  ac- 
companying chart  of  the  English,  Scottish, 
and  American  Rites.  The  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  degrees  of  the  Scottish  Rite,  form- 
ing the  summit  of  work  jierformed  in  Grand 
Lodges  of  Perfection,  correspond  to,  but  are 
in  no  sense  identical  with,  the  English  Royal 
Arch  degree  as  worked  in  Royal  Arch 
Chapters  in  the  American  Rite.  They  are 
founded  historically  on  the  royal  arch  of 
Enoch  instead  of  tiie  royal  arch  of  Zerub- 
babel,  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  English 
royal  arch  degree.  Many  among  those  com- 
petent to  judge  favor  the  theory  elsewhere 
outlined,  tliat  the  English  royal  arch  of 
Zerubbabel  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  earlier, 
continental  royal  arch  of  Enoch  of  about 
1740,  and  that  Laurence  Dermott  had  as 
much  to  do  with  the  changes  made  as  he 
had  with  the  introduction  of  this  ampli- 
fication of  the  old  Master's  degree  among 


British  Freemasons.  The  Grand  Elect,  Per- 
fect, and  Sublime  Mason,  fourteenth  degree, 
is  eligible  to  receive  the  historical  degrees, 
Knight  of  the  East  and  Sword,  and  Prince 
of  Jerusalem,  tlie  fifteenth  and  sixteenth, 
respectively,  of  the  system.  These  relate  to 
the  rebuilding  of  the  second  holy  Temple  at 
Jerusalem  under  the  authority  of  King 
Cyrus  and  Darius  his  successor.  From 
them  the  modern  framers  of  the  ritual  of 
the  degree  of  Companion  of  the  Red  Cross, 
conferred  in  Commanderies  of  Knights  Tem- 
plars, have  borrowed  freely. 

The  philosophical  degrees  of  the  Scottish 
Rite,  Knight  of  the  East  and  West,  and 
Knight  of  the  Eagle  and  Pelican,  or  Rose 
Croix,  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth,  are 
conferred  in  Chapters  of  Rose  Croix  and 
"  relate  to  the  building  of  the  third  Temple, 
'one  not  made  with  hands,'  within  the 
heart  of  man."  In  the  Rose  Croix  degree, 
Scottish  Rite  Freemasonry  reaches  its  sum- 
mit as  a  teacher  of  the  sublime  truths  of 
Christianity,  and  it  is  from  this  degree,  as 
well  as  others  of  the  Rite,  that  the  Ameri- 
can Templar  ritual  draws  some  of  its  more 
impressive  ceremonials.  The  degrees  from 
the  nineteenth  to  the  thirty-second,  inclu- 
sive, historical  and  philosophical,  are  con- 
ferred under  the  sanction  of  a  Consistory  or 
Areopagus  of  Knights  of  Kadosch. 

The  thirty-third  and  last  degree  of  An- 
cient, Accepted  Scottish  Masonry  is  conferred 
upon  thirty-second  degree  Freemasons  who 
have  rendered  long  or  distinguished  service 
to  the  Craft.  It  is  executive  in  its  func- 
tion, recipients  being  members  of  the  Su- 
preme Council,  or  governing  body,  of  the 
Rite.  In  the  Southern  Jurisdiction  in  the 
L^nited  States  there  is  an  intermediate  grade 
between  the  thirty-second  and  thirty-third 
degrees,  known  as  the  Court  of  Honor,  com- 
posed of  (a)  Masters  of  the  Royal  Secret, 
and  (b)  Inspectors  General  (thirty-third 
degree),  active,  emeriti,  and  honorary. 
There  is  also  the  rank  of  Knight  of  the 
Court  of  Honor,  consisting  of  two  grades, 
Knight   Commander   and   Grand    Cro^?s  of 


54 


FREEMASONRY 


Honor.  Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors  Gen- 
eral, by  which  title  members  of  Supreme 
Councils  of  the  Kite  are  known  throughout 
the  world,  are  classed,  practically,  as  active, 
emeriti,  and  honorary.  Only  those  in  the 
first  class  are  permitted  to  be  present  at  ex- 
ecutive sessions  of  Supreme  Councils,  and 
''actives''  alone  create  thirty-third  degree 
members.  The  total  number  of  active  thirty- 
third  degree  members  is  very  small,  probably 
not  exceeding  one  hundred  in  North  Amer- 
ica, and  not  exceeding  three  hundred  in  all 
countries.  There  are  fewer  than  fifty  in 
the  Northern  Jurisdiction  in  the  United 
States — north  of  the  Ohio  and  east  of  the 
Mississippi  Rivers — and  still  fewer  in  the  re- 
maining States.  The  list  of  emeriti  Sover- 
eign Grand  Inspectors  General  is  very  short, 
and,  as  the  title  implies,  includes  the  few 
"  actives  "  who  have  retired  from  the  labors 
of  the  governing  body  full  of  honors  and 
advancing  years.  The  custom  of  creating 
honorary  Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors-  Gen- 
eral is  one  which  has  grown  up  within  a 
generation,  as  a  means  of  advancing  and 
rewarding  enthusiastic  and  active  Sublime 
Princes  of  the  Royal  Secret  one  step  nearer 
the  goal  which,  of  course,  all  may  not  reach. 
There  are  nearly  six  hundred  names  of  hon- 
orary "thirty-thirds"  in  the  Nortlieru  and 
nearly  four  hundred  in  the  Southern  Juris- 
diction of  the  United  States.  A  full  list  of 
the  names  and  places  of  residence  of  active 
and  honorary  Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors 
General,  33°,  in  the  United  States,  January 
1,  1898,  may  be  found  in  an  accompany- 
ing Masonic  Directory.  Official  position  in 
a  Supreme  Council  was  formerly  for  life, 
and  in  nearly  all,  except  the  Northern  Ju- 
risdiction, where  the  term  is  three  years,  it 
continues  so.  But  even  in  the  Supreme 
Council  of  the  Northern  Jurisdiction  fitness 
for  the  position  insures  continued  reelection 
at  every  triennial  meeting,  so  that  where 
nothing  transpires  to  make  a  change  desir- 
able, the  kingly  prerogative  of  life  tenure  in 
office  is  still  in  force. 

It  remains  to  be  related  that  there  are  two 


spurious  Supreme  Councils  "A.  A.  S.  R." 
in  the  United  States,  one  of  which  is 
founded  on  fraud  and  the  other  on  misrep- 
resentation and  personal  pique.  Neither 
numbers  many  adherents,  and  each  is  only 
nominally  or  locally  active.  Both  claim 
the  name,  authority  of,  and  regular  descent 
from  Cerneau,  and  the  founders  of  both 
know  that  their  claims  are  without  founda- 
tion. The  older  calls  itself  "the  Supreme 
Council  of  the  thirty-third  and  last  degree 
of  A.  A.  S.  R.  Masonry,  organized  by  T.  I. 
Joseph  Cerneau,  M.  P.  S.  G.  C,  October 
27,  1807,  for  the  U.  S.  A.,  its  Territories 
and  Dependencies."  Its  real  founder  was 
Harry  J.  Seymour,  who  was  expelled  from 
the  Cerneau-Raymond  Council  in  1865,  for 
reasons  which  should  have  caused  his  name 
to  be  struck  from  the  list  of  acquaintances 
of  every  self-respecting  Master  Mason.  Sey- 
mour was  once  well-to-do,  but  afterward  felt 
compelled  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Abra- 
ham Jacobs,  whose  name  is  on  the  chart  of 
filiated  powers  accompanying  this  sketch.* 
Jacobs  was  a  notorious  peddler  of  degrees, 
who  was  expelled  for  illegal  assumption  of 
Masonic  authority.  Seymour  was  initiated 
into  the  Rite  of  Memphis  in  Paris  in  1862, 
and  after  being  expelled  from  the  Scottish 
Rite  in  the  United  States  in  1865,  started 
out  for  himself  by  organizing  alleged  Scot- 
tish Rite  bodies  in  New  York  city,  into 
which  well-meaning  Master  Masons  were 
inducted,  at  so  much  apiece,  by  himself  as 
hierophant  and  purveyor  of  regalia  and  para- 
phernalia at  cent-per-cent  prices.  Some 
who  were  duped  by  him,  who  have  since 
joined  regular  Scottish  Rite  bodies,  vouch 
for  this  statement,  and  for  the  fact  that  at 
one  time  he  used  a  condensation  of  the  Rite 
of  Memphis  as  his  "Cerneau  Rite."  In 
1879  he  organized  a  Supreme  Council,  claim- 
ing to  have  been  constituted  the  head  of  the 
Cerneau  Rite  by  Hays,  who  died  in  1874 
member  of  the  consolidated  Northern  Su- 

*  See  footnote  to  chronological  events  in  the 
career  of  the  Southern,  Northern,  and  Cerneau 
Supreme  Councils. 


FREEMASONRY 


55 


preme  Council.  So  transparent  a  fraud 
would  seem  to  have  been  apparent  to  an)^ 
sane  man  over  twenty-one  years  of  age. 
Cagliostro  found  his  victims,  Jacobs  his, 
and  Seymour  evidently  had  several  of  his 
own.  The  descent  is  precipitant  but  mani- 
fest. Enough  material  in  the  way  of  new 
members  has  been  secured  by  Peckham, 
Gorgas,  Hibbs,  and  other  successors  of  Sey- 
mour to  enable  them  to  go  through  the  mo- 
tions of  maintaining  so-called  Consistories 
in  New  York  city  and  Jersey  City,  and,  in 
former  years,  at  a  few  other  cities,  and  to 
report  having  held  annual  sessions  of  a  Su- 
preme Council.  The  only  regret  is  that  a 
few  hundred  innocent  and  honest  Master 
Masons  have  been  taken  advantage  of  and 
induced  to  part  with  their  money  and  inter- 
est— for  nothing.  This  Seymour-Cerneau 
organization  is  repudiated  by  Supreme  Coun- 
cils throughout  the  world,  and  its  adherents 
must  place  themselves  in  the  category  with 
those  who  find  themselves  deceived  becaiise 
they  failed  to  examine  before  buying.  A 
large  precentage  of  the  Grand  Masters  of 
Grand  Lodges,  Grand  High  Priests  of  Grand 
Chapters,  Very  Eminent  Commanders  of 
Grand  Coramanderies  of  Knights  Templars, 
their  asoociate  officers,  past  and  present, 
and  thousands  of  other  members  of  the  Craft 
throughout  the  United  States  are  members 
of  Scottish  Rite  bodies  holding  obedience  to 
the  legitimate  Supreme  Councils,  the  North- 
ern and  Southern  Jurisdictions.  The  unin- 
formed Master  Mason  has  only  to  inquire  to 
learn. 

Not  until  1881  was  the  second  existing 
spurious  Supreme  Council  "A.  A.  S.  R. " 
formed,  fourteen  years  after  the  union  of 
18f)T.  It  was  organized  at  New  York  by 
Hopkins  Thompson  (an  emeritus  thirty- 
third  of  the  Northern  Supreme  Council, 
who  was  not  ji resent  at  Boston  when  Rob- 
inson reorganized  the  Cerneau-Raymond 
Council,  but  who  was  present  at  and  swore 
fealty  to  the  consolidated  Council  in  1867). 
He  was  aided  by  a  few  honorary  thirty- 
third,  and  one  thirty-second  degree  mem- 


ber on  whom  the  consolidated  Northern 
Supreme  Council  had  refused  to  confer  the 
thirty-third  degree,  eleven  in  all.  When 
the  full  proceedings  of  the  action  of  the 
Cerneau-Raymond  Council  leading  up  to 
the  consolidation  of  1807  were  published  in 
1881,  all  of  which  had  been  known  at  the 
time,  these  men  claimed  to  have  just  dis- 
covered that  when  Robinson  dissolved  the 
Cerneau-Raymond  Council  at  Boston  in 
18G6,  and  reorganized  it  under  the  name 
Northern  Jurisdiction,  that  they  were  there- 
by absolved  from  their  oaths  of  fealty  to  the 
union  Council  of  1863.  They,  therefore, 
with  Hopkins  Thompson  as  the  alleged  suc- 
cessor of  Cerneau,  et  ah,  claimed  to  revive 
the  old  Cerneau  body,  that  which  united 
with  the  Raymond  Supreme  Council  in  1863. 
Their  oaths  of  fealty  to  the  consolidated  Su- 
preme Council  of  1867  Avere  repudiated  be- 
cause, as  alleged,  they  were  obtained  by 
keeping  them  in  ignorance  of  all  the  facts. 
Their  antagonism  to  the  Seymour  organi- 
zation is  bitter.  Naturally  the  Thompson 
party  repiidiates  the  Southern  as  well  as  the 
Northern  Supreme  Councils,  and  continues 
an  existence  on  jiaper,  isolated  from  all  other 
Supreme  Councils  in  the  Avorld.  Its  total 
active  membership  does  not  number  more 
than  a  few  hundred.  Many  who  have  joined 
it  have  discovered  they  were  deceived  and 
have  retired.  Its  centres  of  activity  are 
at  New  York  city,  Columbus,  0.,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  and  ]\Iiuneapolis,  Minn.  In 
Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Iowa, 
and  Nebraska,  Master  Masons  render  them- 
selves liable  to  suspension  by  joining  Cer- 
neau Scottish  Rite  bodies,  and  the  Grand 
Lodge  in  Ohio  has  been  sustained  by  the 
courts  in  its  position  on  this  point. 

MASONIC   DIRECTOllY. 

Secretaries  of  Sovereign  Grand  Lodges  of  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons  in  the  Uiiited  States. 

Alabama H.  C.  Armstrong.  .Montgomery. 

Arizona G.  J.  Roskruge  . .  .Tucson. 

Arkansas F.  II.  Hempstead  .Little  Rock. 

California G.  Johnson Sau  Francisco. 


56 


FREEMASONRY 


Colorado 

(Connecticut 

Delaware 

District  of  Golum. 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Indian  Territory. 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky  

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts . . . 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Montana 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New  Hampshire  . 

New  Jersey 

New  Mexico 

New  York 

North  Carolina . . 
North  Dakota  . . . 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania. . .  . 
Rhode  Island. . . . 
South  Carolina  . . 
South  Dakota. . . . 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah 

Vermont 

Virginia 

Washington 

West  Virginia . . . 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 


Ed,  C.  Parraalee. 
John  II.  Barlow.. 

B.  F.  Bartram  . . . 
W.  R.  Singleton  . 
W.  P.  Webster  . . 
A.  M.  Wolihin. . . 
Theop.W.  Randall 

J.  H.  C.  Dill 

W.  H.  Smythe. . . . 

J.  S.  Murrow 

T.  S.  Parvin 

Albert  K.  Wilson. . 

H.  B.  Grant 

R.  Lambert 

Stephen  Berry  . .  .  . 
J.  H.  Medairy  .  . .  . 
S.  D.  Nickerson . . . 

J.  S.  Conover 

T.  Montgomery . . . 

J.  L.  Power    

J.  D.  Vincil 

Cornelius  Hedges  . 
W.  R.  Bowen 

C.  N.  Noteware. . . 
G.  P.  Cleaves.... 
T.  H.  R.  Redway 
A.  A.  Keen 

E.  M.  L.  Ehlers. . 
John  C.  Drewry... . 

F.  J.  Thompson  .  . 
J.  H.  Bromwell.  . . 

J.  S.  Hunt 

James  F.  Robinson 
William  A.  Sinn  . 

E.  Baker 

C.  Inglesby 

G.  A.  Pettigrew. . 
John  B.  Garrett. . 
John  Watson  .... 

C.  Diehl 

W.  G.  Reynolds.. 
G.  W.  Carrington 

T.  M.  Reed 

G.  W.  Atkinson.. 

J.  W.  Laflin 

W.  L.  Kuykendall 


Denver. 
Hartford. 
•  Wilmington. 
Washington. 
Jacksonville. 
.Macon. 
.Boise  City. 
Bloomington. 
Indianapolis. 
Atoka. 

Cedar  Rapids. 
Topeka. 
Louisville. 
New  Orleans. 
Portland. 
Baltimore. 
Boston. 
Coldwater. 
St.  Paul. 
Jackson. 
St.  Louis. 
Helena. 
Omaha. 
Carson  City. 
Concord. 
Trenton. 
.Albuquerque. 
New  York. 
.Raleigh. 
Fargo. 
Cincinnati. 
Stillwater. 
.Eugene  City. 
Philadelphia. 
Providence. 
Charleston. 
Flandreau. 
Nashville. 
Houston. 
Salt  Lake  City. 
Burlington. 
Richmond. 
Olympia. 
Wheeling. 
Milwaukee. 
Saratoga. 


General  Grand  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons, 
U.  S.  A.,  General  Grand  Secretary,  Christopher 
G.  Fox,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

General  Grand  Council  of  Royal  and  Select 
Masters,  U.  S.  A.,  General  Grand  Recorder,  Henry 
W.  Mordhurst,  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.     • 

General  Encampment  of  Knights  Templars, 
U.  S.  A.,  Grand  Recorder,  Wm.  H.  Mayo,  St. 
Louis,  Mo. 


Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Rite. 

Supreme  Council,  Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors 
General,  33°,  Southern  Jurisdiction  (south  of  Mason 
and  Dixon  line  and  west  of  the  Mississippi  River), 
U.  S.  A. 

Thomas  H.  Caswell,  33°,  Most  Puissant  Sover- 
eign Grand  Commander,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Frederick  Webber,  Illustrious  Grand  Secretary 
General,  33°,  No.  433  North  3d  Street,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

The  complete  list  of  active  thirty-third  degree 
members  of  the  Supreme  Council,  Sovereign  Grand 
Inspectors  General,  Southern  Jurisdiction,  1897,  is 
as  follows  : 

Adams,  Samuel  E Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Carr,  Erasmus  T Miles  City,  Mont. 

Caswell,  Thomas  H San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Chamberlain,  Austin  B Galveston,  Tex. 

Collins,  Martin St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Cortland,  J.  Wakefield Asheville,  N.  C. 

Fellows,  John  Q.  A New  Orleans,  La. 

Fitzgerald,  Adolphus  L Eureka,  Nev. 

Fleming,  Rufus  E Fargo,  N.  D. 

Foote,  Frank  M Evanston,  Wyo. 

Hayden,  James  R Seattle,  Wash. 

Henry,  James  A Little  Rock,  Ark. 

Levin,  Nathaniel Charleston,  S.  C. 

Long,  Odel  S Charleston,  W.  Va. 

McLean,  William  A Jacksonville,  Fla. 

Mayer,  John  F Richmond,  Va. 

Meredith,  Gilmor Baltimore,  Md. 

Moore,  George  F Montgomery,  Ala. 

Nun,  Richard  J : Savannah,  Ga. 

Parvin,  Theodore  S .Cedar  Rapids,  la. 

Pierce,  William  F Oakland,  Cal. 

Pratt,  Irving  W Portland,  Ore. 

Richardson,  James  D Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 

Sherman,  Buren  R Vinton,  la. 

Teller,  Henry  M Central  City,  Colo. 

Todd,  Samuel  M New  Orleans,  La. 

Webber,  Frederick Washington,  D.  C. 

The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  honorary 
thirty-third  degree  members  of  the  Supreme  Coun- 
cil, A.  A.  S.  R.,  Southern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  for  1897  : 

Alabama. 
Billing,  Fay  McC Montgomery. 

Arkansas. 

Kramer,  Frederick Little  Rock. 

Rosenbaum,  Charles  E Little  Rock. 

Rickon,  Frederick  J.  H Little  Rock. 

Arizona. 

Freeman,  Merrill  P Tucson. 

Kales,  Martin  W Phoenix. 

Roskruge,  George  J Tucson. 


FREEMASONRY 


57 


California. 

Hobe,  George  J San  Francisco. 

Goodman,  'J'heodore  II San  Francisco. 

Sherman,  Edwin  A Oakland. 

Spaulding,  Nathan  W Oakland. 

Daugherty,  Charles  M Oakland. 

Buck,  Silas  M Eureka. 

Stone,  Charles  E Marysville. 

Merritt,  James  B Oakland. 

Gillctt,  Charles  E Oakland. 

Petrie,  Williain  M Sacramento. 

Davies.  William  A San  Francisco. 

Waterhouse,  Columbus San  Francisco. 

De  Clairmont,  Ralph San  Francisco. 

Rosenstock,  Samuel  W San  Francisco. 

Lloyd,  Reuben  H San  Francisco. 

Levy,  Samuel  W San  Francisco. 

Patterson,  George Oakland. 

Crocker,  Charles  F San  Francisco. 

Daniell,  William  H  Northampton,  Mass. 

Cline,  Henry  A San  F'rancisco. 

Rader,   Frank Los  Angeles. 

Lee,  James  G.  C San  Francisco. 

Fletcher,  LeRoy  D Oakland. 

Pallon,  Charles  L San  Francisco. 

Pierce,  Charles  L.  J.  W Oakland. 

Davis,  Jacob  Z San  Francisco. 

Wagner,  Charles  W.  A. San  Francisco. 

Lask,  Harry  J San  Francisco. 

Jones,  Florin  L Pasadena. 

Langdon,  Frederick  S Los  Angeles. 

Colorado. 

Greenleaf,  Lawrence  N Denver. 

Parmalce.  Edward  C Denver. 

Pomeroy,  Richard  A New  Iberia,  La. 

Orahood,  Harper  M Denver. 

Gove,  Aaron Denver. 

Hill,  Frank  B Denver. 

District  of  Columbia. 

Ingle,  Christopher Washington. 

Brown,  Joseph  T New  Roehelle,  N.  Y. 

Bennett,  Clement  W Washington. 

Singleton.  William  R Washington. 

^lacGrotty,  Edwin  B Washington. 

Schmid,  John  E.  C Wa.shington. 

Somerville,  Thomas Washington. 

Roome,  William  Oscar Washington. 

Taylor,  Joseph  C Washington. 

Roose,  William  S Washington. 

Loockerman,  Thomas  G Georgetown. 

Lansburgh.  James Washington. 

Duiicanson,  Charles  C Washington. 

Taylor,  Leroy  M Washington. 

Balloch,  George  W Washington. 

No  yes,  Isaac  P Washington. 


Baldwin,  Aaron Washington. 

Woodman,  Francis  J Washington. 

Goldsmith,  Louis Washnigton. 

Naylor,  Allison,  Jr Washington. 

Ball,  Robert Washington. 

Willis,  Edward  M Washington. 

Florida. 
Perry,  Robert  J Key  West. 

Georgia. 

Blackshear,  James  E Savannah. 

Wolihin,  Andrew  M Macon. 

Stockdell,  Ileniy  C Atlanta. 

Cavanaugh,  John  H Savannah. 

Hawaiian  Islands. 

Williams,  Henry  II Honolulu. 

West,  Gideon 

Lidian  Territory. 
Hill.  Robert  W Muscogee. 

Iowa. 

Ashton,  George  W Lyons. 

Cotton,  Aylett  R San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Parker,  George  W Lyons. 

Morton,  James Cedar  Rapids. 

Van  Deventer,  James  T Knoxville,  Tenn. 

Lamb,  Artemus Clinton. 

Bever,  George  W Cedar  Rapids. 

Ellis,  Lyman  A Lyons. 

Fidlar,  Wilbur  F Davenport. 

Curtis,  Charles  F Clinton. 

Woodward,  Benjamin  S Clinton. 

Blakely,  Frederick  L Lyons. 

Gardiner,  Silas  Wright Lyons. 

Wadleigh,  Leroy  B .Clinton. 

Watson,  William  P Vinton. 

Macy,  John  C Des  Moines. 

Percival,  Frederick  A Des  Moines. 

Park,  William  A Des  Moines. 

Head,  Albert Des  Moines. 

Gage,  Elbridge  F Cedar  Rapids. 

Ray,  Frank  G Vinton. 

Parvin,  Newton  R Cedar  Rapids. 

Lacey,  Thomas  B Council  Bluffs. 

Japan. 

Langfelt,  August Yokohama. 

Keil,  Oscar Yokohama. 

Kansas. 

Sherman,  Adrian  C Rossville. 

Freeling,  Peter  J Leavenworth. 

Miller,  Matthew  M Topcka. 

Carpenter,  John  C Leavenworth. 

Langdon,  Burton  E Louisville,  Ky. 

Emmons,  Alonzo  C Leavenworth. 

Davis.  Evan Lawrence. 


58 


FREEMASONRY 


Kansas. — Continued. 

Cole,  Jeremiah  S Freeport,  111. 

Smith,  Jeremiah  G Wichita. 

Cunningham,  Harper  S Oklahoma,  Okl. 

Seilz,  John  G.  0 Salina. 

Liepman,  Joseph  H Fort  Scott. 

McDermott,  Fcnton  L Fort  Scott. 

Jones,  Charles  M Wichita. 

Goldberg,  Edward Wichita. 

Loomis,  Henry  C Winfield. 

Norton,  Jonathan  D Topeka. 

Passon,  David Lawrence. 

Hass,  James  H Topeka. 

Kentucky. 

■Gray,  Henry  W Louisville. 

Freeman,  Ambrose  W St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Reinecke,  William Louisville. 

Hall,  Edwin  G West  Side,  Cal. 

Ryan,  William Louisville. 

Sloss,  Levi Louisville. 

Smith,  Kilbourn  W Louisville. 

Vogt,  Charles  C Louisville. 

Fisk,  Charles  H Covington. 

Miller,  Robert  T Covington. 

Dudley,  Thomas  U Louisville. 

Johnson,  Frank  H Louisville. 

Thomas,  Warren  La  Rue. . .  .Maysville. 

Livezey,  Thomas  E Covington. 

Wilson,  David  H Louisville. 

Johnson,  William  R Louisville. 

Kopmeier,  George Louisville. 

Staton,  James  W Brooksville. 

Pruett,  John  W Frankfort. 

Witt,  Bernard  G Henderson. 

Ranshaw,  Henry Covington. 

Robinson,  Eugene  A Maysville. 

Louisiana. 

Craig,  Emmett  DeW New  Orleans. 

Isaacson,  Alfred  H New  Orleans. 

Brice,  Albert  G New  Orleans. 

Soule,  George New  Orleans. 

Hero,  Andrew,  Jr New  Orleans. 

Kells,  Charles  Edmund 

Norwood.  Abel  J 

Quayle,  Mark New  Orleans. 

Buck,  Charles  F New  Orleans. 

Lambert,  Richard New  Orleans. 

Schneiden.  Paul  M New  Orleans. 

Pinckard,  George  J New  Orleans. 

Collins,  William  J New  Orleans. 

Coulter,  Henry  W New  Orleans. 

Pratts,  Jose  Alaban  y New  Orleans. 

Maryland. 
Jenkins,  Benjamin  W  .....  .  .Baltimore. 

Cisco,  Charles  T Baltimore. 


Wiesenfeld,  David Baltimore. 

Shryock,  Thomas  J Baltimore. 

Larrabee,  Henry  C Baltimore. 

3Iinnesota. 

Hayden,  Francis  A Chicago,  111. 

Nash,  Charles  W St.  Paul. 

Hotchkiss,  Edward  A Minneapolis. 

Williams,  James  M Minneapolis. 

Whitman,  Ozias Red  Wing. 

Merrill,  Giles  W St.  Paul. 

Thompson,  Joseph  H Minneapolis. 

Ferry,  John  C St.  Paul. 

Metcalf,  George  R St.  Paul. 

Wright,  William  H.  S St.  Paul. 

Hugo,  Trevanion  W Duluth. 

Schlener,  John  A Minneapolis. 

Jewett,  William  P St.  Paul. 

Levering,  Anthony  Z Minneapolis. 

Metcalf,  Oscar  M St.  Paul. 

Powell,  Milton  E Redwood  Falls. 

Dobbin,  Joseph  L Minneapolis. 

Randall,  John  H Minneapolis. 

Higbee,  Albert  E Minneapolis. 

Kilvington,  Samuel  S Minneapolis. 

Richardson,  William  E Duluth. 

3Iisso%iri. 

Loker,  William  N St.  Louis. 

Garrett,  Thomas  E St.  Louis. 

Thacher,  Stejjhen  D Kansas  City. 

Parsons,  John  R St.  Louis. 

Morrow,  Thomas  R Kansas  City. 

Altheimer,  Benjamin St.  Louis. 

Stowe,  James  G Kansas  City. 

Harvey,  William Kansas  City. 

Stewart,  Alphonse  C St.  Louis. 

Mayo,  William  H St.  Louis. 

Nelson,  Benjamin  F St.  Louis. 

Mississipjii. 
Speed,  Frederic Vicksburg. 

Montana. 

Hedges,  Cornelius Helena. 

Major,  John  C Helena. 

Guthrie,  Henry  H Helena. 

Frank,  Henry  L    Butte. 

Fowler,  William  C Genesee,  Ida. 

Hitman,  Cyrus  W Livingston. 

Lashorn,  Millard  H Livingston. 

Nebraska. 

Furnas,  Robert  W Brownsville. 

Betts,  George  C New  Jersey. 

Deuel,  Harry  P Omaha. 

Monell,  John  J.,  Jr Omaha. 

Fulleys,  James  A Red  Cloud. 

Oaklev.  Roland  H Lincoln. 


FREEMASONRY 


59 


Nebraska. — Continued. 

Rawalt,  Benjamin  F Dubois,  Colo. 

Young,  Frank  II.  0 Broken  Bow. 

Duke,  Elbert  T Omaha. 

Warren,  Edwin  F Nebraska  City. 

Cleburne,  William Omaha. 

Sewell,  Thomas Lincoln. 

Huntington,  Charles  S Omaha. 

Webster,  Edward  C Hastings. 

Akin,  Henry  C Omaha. 

France,  George  B 

Mercer,  John  J Omaha. 

Sudborough,  Thomas  K Omaha. 

Kenyon,  William  J.  C Omaha. 

Anderson,  Leverett  M Omaha. 

Wheeler,  Daniel  H Omaha. 

Korty,  Lewis  H Omaha. 

Newell,  Henry Omaha. 

Hall,  Frank  M Lincoln. 

Keene,  Louis  McL Freemont. 

Nevada. 

Laughton,  Charles  E Carson  City. 

Buttlar,  Charles  J.   R Oakland,  Cal. 

Harmon,  Fletcher  H Eureka. 

Hall.  David  H Eureka. 

Torre,  Giovanni Eureka. 

North  Dakota. 

Burke,  Andrew  H Duluth,  Minn. 

Paxton,  Thomas  C Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Thompson,  Frank  J Fargo. 

Twamley,  James Grand  Forks. 

Darrow,  Edward  McL Fargo. 

Plumley,  Horatio  C Fargo. 

Kneisley,  Charles  C Davenport,  la. 

Schwellenbach,  Ernest  J Jamestown. 

Guptil,  Albert  B Fargo. 

Knowlton,  Roswell  W Fargo. 

Nash,  Francis  B Fargo. 

Scott,  William  A Fargo. 

Oregon. 

Dolph,  Joseph  N Portland. 

Foster,  John  R Portland. 

Shurtliff,  Ferdinand  N Portland. 

Pope,  Seth  L Portland. 

Roberts,  Andrew Portland. 

Malcolm,  Philip  S Portland. 

Whitehouse,   Benjamin  G. ..  .Portland. 

Withington,  George  E Portland. 

Clark,  Louis  G Portland. 

Tuthill,  David  S Portland. 

Mayer,  Jacob Portland. 

Chance,  George  H.   Portland. 

Hoyt,  Henry  L Portland. 

cook,  James  W Portland. 


South  Dakota. 

Blatt,  William Yankton. 

Huntington,  Eugene Webster. 

Cummingg,  Daniel  E Dead  wood. 

Leroy,  Lewis  G Webster. 

Maloney,  Richard  M Deadwood. 

South  Carolina. 

Buist,  John  S Charleston. 

Ficken,  John  F Charleston. 

Mordecai,  Thomas  M Charleston. 

Buist,  Samuel  S Charleston. 

Pankin,  Charles  F Charleston. 

Tennessee. 

Eastman,  Charles  H Nashville. 

Plumacher,  Eugene  H Maracaibo,  Venez'la. 

Wright,  Pitkin  C Memphis. 

Sears,  John  McK Memphis. 

Weller,  John  J Memphis. 

Texas. 

Gunner,  Rudolph Dallas. 

Openheimer,  Louis  M Austin. 

Morst,  Charles  S Corsicana. 

Ashby,  Joseph  K Fort  Worth. 

Martin,  Sidney Fort  Worth. 

Hotchkiss,  Charles  A Dallas. 

Hamilton,  Benjamin  0 Galveston. 

Gelbough,  Frederick  M Galveston. 

Hunter,  Craig Temple. 

United  States  Army. 

Head,  John  F Washington,  D.  C. 

Bailey,  Elisha  I San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Wood,  Marshall  W Boise  Barracks,  Ida. 

Hall,  Robert  11 

Dudley,  Edgar  S. Columbus,  0. 

Woodruff,  Carle  A Fort  Warren,  Mass. 

Page,  Charles Baltimore,  Md. 

Lee,  James  G.  C San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Rockefeller,  Charles  M.   Alliance,  O. 

Sanno,  James  M.  J Ft.  Snelling,  Minn. 

McConihe,  Samuel Ft.  Leavenw'th.Kan. 

Virginia. 

Olney,  Uervey  A Tilbury,  Can. 

Craighill,  Edward  A  Lynchburg. 

Greenwood,  Frederick Norfolk. 

Turner,  Daniel  J.,  Jr Portsmouth. 

Nesbitt,  Charles  A Richmond. 

Ryan,  William Riciiniond. 

Carmichael,  Hartley Riclimond. 

Williams,  Richard  P Montgomery,  Ala. 

Washirigton. 

O'Brien,  Rossell  G Olympia. 

Reed.  Thomas  M Olympia. 

Zeigler,  Louis Spokane. 


60 


FREEMASONRY 


Washington. — Continued. 

Rundle,  Nathan  B Spokane. 

Gowey,  John  F Olympia, 

Thompson,  Walter  J. Tacoma. 

Hare,  Edward  R Tacouia. 

Snodgrass,  Furman  E Spokane. 

West  Virginia. 

Walker,  Kephart  D Fairmount. 

Applegate,   William  J Wellsburg. 

^Morris,  John  W Wheeling. 

Parrah,  Thomas  M Wheeling. 

Birch,  John  M Wheeling. 

McCahon,  James Wheeling. 

Wyoming. 

Knight,  Jesse .Evanston. 

Dickinson,  Edward Laramie. 

Supreme  Council,  Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors 
General,  33°,  Northern  Jurisdiction  (north  of  Mason 
and  Dixon  line  and  east  of  the  Mississippi  River): 

Henry  L.  Palmer,  33°,  Most  Puissant  Sovereign 
Grand  Commander,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Clinton  F.  Paige,  33°,  Illustrious  Grand  Secre- 
tary General,  Stewart  Building,  New  York. 

The  list  of  active  thirty-third  degree  members  of 
the  Supi'eme  Council,  Northern  Jui'isdietion,  is  as 
follows: 

Arnold,  Newton  D Providence,  R.  I. 

Babcock,  Brenton  D Cleveland,  0. 

Balding,  Thomas  E Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Barnard,  Gilbert  W Chicago,  111. 

Bentley,  George  W Brooklyn  N.  Y. 

Buchanan,  James  I Pittsburgh,  Pa.  (Deputy.) 

Burnham,  Edward  P Saco,  Me. 

Caven,  John Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Carson,  Enoch  T Cincinnati,  0.     (Deputy.) 

Carter,  Charles  W Norwich,  Conn.  (Deputy.) 

Codding,  James  H Towanda,  Penn. 

Cottrill,  Charles  M Milwaukee, Wis.  (Deputy.) 

Currier,  George  W Nashua,  N.  H.    (Deputy.) 

Daine,  Charles  C Newburyport,  Mass. 

Drummond,  JosiahH. . .  .Portland,  Me. 

Frazee,  Andrew  B Camden,  N.  J. 

Guthrie,  George  W Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Hawley,  James  H.  . .    . .  .Dixon.  111. 

Higby,  William  R Bridgeport,  Conn. 

Highly,   Francis  M Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Homan,  William New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

Hutchinson,  Charles  C.  ..Lowell,  Mass. 

Ide,  Charles  E Syracuse,  N.  Y.  (Deputy.) 

Kenyon,  George  H Providence,R.I.  (Deputy.) 

King,  INIarquis  F Portland,  Me.     (Deputy.) 

Kinsman,  David  N Columbus,  0. 

Lawrence,  Samuel  C Boston,  Mass. 

McCurdy,   Hugh Corunna,  Mich.  (Deputy.) 

Metcalf,  A.  T Kalamazoo,  j\Iich. 


Paige,  Clinton  F Bingham  ton,  N.  Y. 

Palmer,   Henry  L Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Patterson,  Robert  E Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Perkins,  Marsh  0 Windsor,  Vt.      (Deputy.) 

Pettibone,  Amos Chicago,  111. 

Quinby,  Henry  B  Lakeport,  N.  H. 

Ruckle,  Nicholas  R Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Shirrefs,  Robert  A  Elizabeth,  N.  J.  ^Deputy.) 

Siekels,  Daniel Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Smith,  Barton Toledo,  0. 

Smith,  John  Corson Chicago,  111.        (Deputy.) 

Smith,  Joseph  W Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Stettinius,  John  L Cincinnati,  0. 

Stevens,  Walter  A Chicago,  111. 

Tracy,  David  B Detroit,  Mich. 

Tyler,  George  0 Burlington,  Vt. 

Ward,  J.  H.  Hobart Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Wells,  Samuel Boston,  Mass. 

Woodbury,  Charles  Levi..  Boston,  Mass.  (Deceased.) 

The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  honorary 
thirty-third  degree  members,  Sovereign  Grand  In- 
spectors General  of  the  Supreme  Council  A.  A.  S. 
R.,  Northern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  for 
1898  : 

3Iaine. 

Locke,  Joseph  A Portland. 

Waite,  Almon  C Portland. 

Hinkley,  Ruf  us  H Portland. 

Marston,  Arlington  B Bangor. 

Berry,  Stephen Portland. 

Russell,  John  S Portland. 

Chase,  Albro  E Portland. 

Shaw,  George  R Portland. 

Bearce,  Samuel  F Portland. 

Mallet,  Edmund  B.,  Jr Preeport. 

Farnham,  Augustus  B Bangor. 

Penley,  Albert  M   Auburn. 

Burnham,  William  J Lewiston. 

Merrill,  Jonathan  A Portland. 

Hastings,  Moses  M Bangor. 

Mason,  Wm.  Castein Bangor. 

Harris,  Herbert East  Machias 

Day,  Fessenden  I Lewiston. 

Heath,  Elbridge  G Auburn. 

Hicks,  Millard  F Portland. 

Raymond,  George  E Portland. 

Burr,  Thomas  W Bangor. 

Treby,  Johnson Augusta. 

New  Hampshire. 

Atherton,  Henry  B Nashua. 

Fellows,  Joseph  W Manchester. 

Cleaves,  George  P Concord. 

Webster,  John  F Concord. 

Shattuck,  Joseph Nashua. 

Webster,  Charles  H Nashua. 


FREEMASONRY 


61 


New  Hampshire, — Contitmed. 

Danforth,  Charles  C Concord. 

Smith,  Henry  B Nashua. 

Sanders,  Frank  L Concord. 

Hunt,  Nathan  P Manchester. 

Hatch,  John Greenland. 

Kent,  Henry  0 Lancaster. 

Hatch,  Oscar  C Littleton. 

Clark,  John  H Nashua. 

Towle,  Charles  N Concord. 

Hayes,  Charles  C Manchester. 

Marsh,  Henry  A Nashua. 

Fletcher,  Thomas  M Alder  Brook. 

Wait,  Albert  S Newport. 

Vermont. 

Underwood,  Levi Burlington. 

Paine,  Milton  K Windsor. 

Heaton,  Charles  H Montpelier. 

Johnson,  IMiron  W Burlington. 

Hill,  Howard  F Concord,  N.  H. 

Fisher,  Frederick  S Deposit,  N.  Y. 

Nichols,  Albro  F St.  Johnsbury. 

Reynolds,  Warren  G Burlington. 

Kinsley,  George  H Burlington. 

Jackson,  J.  Henry Barre. 

Cummings,  Silas  W St.  Albans. 

Nichols,  Sayles Burlington. 

Hall  Alfred  A St.  Albans. 

Wing,  George  W Montpelier. 

Whitcomb,  Charles  W Cavendish. 

Wright,  Robert  J Newport. 

Nicholson,  Daniel  N Burlington. 

Calderwood,  Charles  A St.  Johnsbury, 

Thompson,  Jesse  E Rutland. 

Whipple,  John  H Manchester. 

Taf t,  Elihu  B Burlington. 

Babbitt,  George  H Bellows  Falls. 

Webster,  Daniel    P Brattleboro. 

Massachusetts. 

Hathaway,  Nicholas Fall  River. 

Lawrence,  Daniel  W Medford. 

Marshall,  Wyzeman Boston. 

Kelsey,  Albert  H . .  .North  Cambridge. 

P'reeland,  James  H Boston. 

Hall,  John  K Boston. 

Smith,  William  A Worcester. 

Richardson,  William  A Washington,  D.  C. 

Fo.x,  James  A Boston. 

Everett,  Percival  L Boston. 

Niekerson,  Sereno  D Boston. 

^Nfullikcn,  Henry Boston. 

Carpenter,  George  0 Boston. 

Gould,  Benjamin  A Cambridge. 

Endicott,   Henry Cambridgeport. 

Chessman,  William  H Boston. 

Guild,  William  H Boston. 


Perkins,  Henry  P Lowell. 

Welch,  Charles  A Boston. 

Weld,  Otis  E Boston. 

Alger,  William  R Boston. 

Walbridge,  Frederick  G Boston. 

Wright,  Edwin Boston. 

Waterman,  Thomas Boston. 

Smith,  Albert  C Boston. 

Spellman,  Charles  C Springfield. 

Spooner,  Samuel  B Springfield. 

Stevens,  William  J Kingston,  N.  H. 

Carpenter,  George  S Boston. 

Doolittle,  Erastus  H Boston. 

Young,  E.  Bentley Boston. 

Seward,  Josiah  L Lowell. 

Lakin,  John  II Boston. 

Buckingham,  George  B Worcester. 

Rowell,  Benjamin  W Boston. 

Savage,  Mi  not  J Boston. 

Work,  Joseph  W Boston. 

Richardson,  Albert  L. ..... .  .Boston. 

Spring,  Frederick  H Boston. 

Richards,  Eugene  II Boston. 

Allen,  George  H Lynn. 

Livingston,  William  E Lowell. 

Cutting,  Walter Pittsfield. 

Hersey,  Freeman  C Salem. 

Stickney,  Horace  W Boston. 

Young,  James  H Boston. 

Collamore,'\Iohn  H Boston. 

Emmons,  Theodore  H Boston. 

Kendrick,  Edmund  P Springfield. 

Welch,  Albion  F Danvers. 

Hubbard,  Samuel  F Boston. 

Temple,  Thomas  F Boston. 

Fitts,  Edward  A Haverhill'. 

Pollard,  Arthur  G Lowell. 

Gates,  Albert  F Worcester. 

Holton,  Eugene  A Boston. 

Kellough,  Thomas East  Boston. 

Plummer,  j\Ioses  C Boston. 

Holmes,  Edwin  B Boston. 

Nichols,  Edward  W.  L Boston. 

Lawrence,  William  B Medford. 

Bowen,  Seranus Roxbury. 

Raymond,  John  M Salem. 

Trefry,  William  D.  T Marblehead. 

Flanders,  Dana  J jMalden. 

Bush,  John  S.  F Boston. 

Gleason,  James  M Boston. 

Rhodes.  George  H Taunton. 

Thorndike,  Samuel  L Cambridge. 

Young,  Cliarles  F Lowell. 

Rhode  Island. 

Chaffee,  Albert  II Worcester,  Mass. 

Bra>-ton,  James  B Newport. 


62 


FREEMASONRY 


Rhode  Island. — Continued. 

Burt,  Eugene  D Providence. 

White,  Stillman Providence. 

Earle,  Josepli  0 Providence. 

Underwood,  William  J Newport. 

Shepley,  George  L Providence. 

Field,  Henry  C Providence. 

White,  Hunter  C Providence. 

Ilusband,  William  E Providence. 

Eddy,  Andrew  B Providence. 

Newhall,  Charles  C Providence. 

Mumford,  Charles  C Pi-ovidenee. 

Vincent,  Walter  B Providence. 

Burnham,  George  H Providence. 

Studley,  J.  Edward Providence. 

Connecticut. 

Allen,  Marciis  C Bridgeport. 

Parker,  Henry  L Norwich. 

Gould,  James  L Bridgeport. 

Baldwin,  Nathan  A Milford. 

Billings,  Charles  E Hartford. 

Skiff,  Charles  W Danbury. 

Kirker,  James. .    Norwich. 

Waldron,  Frederick  H New  Haven. 

Seeley,  William  E Bridgeport. 

Bronson,  Samuel  M Hartford. 

Brewer,  Arthur  H Norwich. 

Bronson,  Horatio  G New  Haven. 

Quintard,  Eli  S New  Haven. 

Button,  Alpheus  D Bridgeport. 

Sevin,  Nathan  D Norwich. 

Knowlton,  Julius  W Bridgeport. 

Lines,  H.  Wales Meriden. 

Hubbard,  Charles  L Norwich. 

Root,  John  G Hartford. 

Woodward,  Henry JMiddletown. 

Spencer,  Frederick  A Waterbury. 

Porter,  George  L Bridgeport. 

Chapman,  Silas,  Jr Hartford. 

Lippitt,  Costello Norwich. 

Neiv  York. 

Woodhara,  Alfred Brooklyn. 

Jennings,  Joseph  J Brooklyn. 

Vining,  Harrison  S Brooklyn. 

Cole,  Otis Rochester. 

Anderson,  John  R Le  Roy. 

Gardner,  George  J Syracuse. 

Stone,  Seymour  H Syracuse. 

Loomis,  Edwin  J Norwich. 

Williams,  John  D Elmira. 

Fleming,  Walter  M New  York. 

Northrup,  Aaron  L New  York. 

Sage,  John  L Rochester. 

Anthony,  Jesse  B Troy. 

Stiles,  Benjamin  F Skaneateles. 


Robinson,  John  C Binghamton. 

Bartlett,  John  S Buffalo. 

Cook,  Abel  G Syracuse. 

Ten  Eyck,  James Albany. 

Gilbert,  George  W New  York. 

Telfair,  Jacob  R Staten  Island. 

Ehlers,  Edward  M.  L New  York. 

Sage,  William  L  Boston,  Mass. 

Paterson,  William  S New  York. 

Macomb,  John  N Lawrence,  Kan. 

Peters,  Augustus  W New  York. 

Russ,   Herman  H Albany. 

Torrey,  Charles  W Staten  Island. 

Eakins,  Joseph  B New  York. 

Heyzer,  Charles  H New  York. 

Wood,  Austin  C Syracuse. 

Steele,  Samuel  C Rochester. 

Clark,  Charles  P Syracuse. 

Thacher,  John  Boyd Albany. 

Berry,  Hiram  B.    .* Warwick, 

Fuller,  George  W Corning. 

Pearce,  Willard  A New  York. 

Simmons,  J.  Edward New  York. 

Flagler,  Benjamin Suspension  Bridge. 

Brodie,  William  A Geneseo. 

Millar,  George  W New  York. 

Lawless,  William  J New  York. 

Becker,  Albert,  Jr Syracuse. 

Ely,  Foster Ridgefield,  Conn. 

Trask.  Wayland Brooklyn. 

Ward,  Charles  S New  York. 

Richardson,  John  W Brooklyn. 

Abel,  Joseph  P Brooklyn. 

Parker,  Richard  H Syracuse. 

Lawrence,  Frank  R New  York. 

Plumb,  Hiram  W Syracuse. 

Ferguson,  James  F Central  Valley. 

Fitch,  William  E Albany. 

McGown,  George Palmyra. 

McDowell,  Simon  V Rochester. 

Thrall,  Edwin  A Brooklyn. 

Walker,  Sidney  F Brooklyn. 

McGee,  James Brooklyn. 

Clarke,  Geoi'ge  H Rochester. 

Hubbard,  Warren  C Rochester. 

Jones,  Edward  F Binghamton. 

Frisbie,  Byron  S LTtica. 

Benson,  Frederic  A Binghamton. 

MacLellan,  Daniel  M New  York. 

Shafer,  John  F Menands,  Albany. 

Lombard,  Thomas  R New  York. 

Lorillard,  Pierre New  York. 

Knowles,  Edwin Brooklyn. 

MacArthur,  Arthur .   Troy. 

Story,  William  Albany. 

Affleck,  Stephen  D New  York. 


FREEMASONRY 


63 


New  York. — Continued. 

Griffith,  Charles  T New  York. 

Moore,  Thomas New  York. 

Washburne,  Pldwin  D New  York. 

Lambert,  J.  Leavitt    Hoosick  Falls. 

Day,  David  F Buffalo. 

Sherer,  William Brooklyn. 

Tallcott,  Edwin  0 Syracuse. 

Hinc,  Omar  A Canton. 

Wright.  Alfred  G Rochester. 

White,  William  II New  York. 

Van  Buskirk,  George  W  . . .  .New  York. 

Ellison,  Saruni  R New  York. 

Duncan,  W^illiam  J New  York. 

Burdgc,  Dwight Brooklyn. 

Rowell,  George  A Brooklyn, 

Quantin,  Edward  11 Brooklyn. 

Brown,  Elon  G Utica. 

Duncan,  John  II Syracuse. 

Sutherland,  William  A Rochester. 

Sturtevant,  Stephen  Y West  Troy. 

Crawford,  Charles    New  York. 

Armatage,  Charles  II Albany. 

Goble,  Frank  B Rochester. 

Cushman,  Charles  W Buffalo. 

Edwards,  Amos  S Syracuse. 

Williams,  Robert  D Albany. 

Stewart,  John New  York. 

Wood,  George New  York. 

Matthews,  William  J New  York. 

Stiles,  Robert  B Lansingburg. 

Hall,  Edwin  C Syracuse. 

Stone,  Horace  G Syracuse. 

Griimniond,  Fred  W Binghamton. 

Moore,  Joseph  C Corning. 

Kendall,  Hugh  H Corning. 

Noble,  Horace  A Buffalo. 

Brothers,  John  L Buffalo. 

Brown,  George  L Buffalo. 

Titus,  Robert  C Buffalo. 

Newell,  George  A ^Medina. 

Vick,  Frank  H Rochester. 

Beatty,  Claudius  F New  York. 

Sisson,  John  W New  York. 

Stevens,  T.  Jefferson Brooklyn. 

Sloan,  Augustus  K Brooklyn. 

Weaver,  William  II Albany. 

Smith,  J.  Hungerford Rochester, 

Hatch,  Edward  W Buffalo. 

Woodward,  Clarence  L Syracuse. 

Delavan,  Erastus  C Binghamton, 

Pritchard,  Truman  S Corning. 

Lloyd,  James  II Troy. 

McKee,  J.  Frank Gloversville. 

Bingham,  Charles  D Watertown. 

Greenwood,  Marvin  I Newark. 


Potter,  Henry  C New  York. 

Dunwell,  Charles  T Brooklyn. 

Dumary,  T.  Henry Albany. 

Ward,  Francis  G Buffalo. 

Prescott,  Joel  H.,  Jr Buffalo. 

Anderson,  Jolin Binghamton. 

Johnson,  David   M Binghamton. 

Sisson,  William  W Binghamton. 

Hand,  Walter  M Binghamton. 

Sickels,  f 'harles  E Brooklyn 

Luscomb,  (^harles  II Brooklyn. 

Demarest,  William  E New  York. 

Barker,  George  T Brooklyn. 

Eaton,  Calvin  W Albany. 

Hayes,  Charles  E Buffalo. 

Newell,  John  T Ogdensburg, 

Curtis,  Dexter  D Elmira. 

Brooke,  Thomas Rochester, 

Stowell,  Henry Troy. 

Neiv  Jersey. 

Edwards,  George  B Jersey  City, 

Goodwin,  William  W Camden, 

Bechtel,  Charles Trenton. 

Higginbotham,  Marcus Jersey  City. 

Scott,  George Paterson. 

Borden,  Jerome  B Somerset,  Mass, 

Steed,  George  W Camden. 

Mills,   Edward Camden. 

Winfield,  Albert  D Paterson. 

Tice,  Josiah New  Brunswick. 

Smith,  Stephen Jersey  City. 

Watson,  Thomas  F Jersey  City. 

Roome,  Henry  C Jersey  City. 

Schoder,  Anthony Woodbridge. 

Stevens,  Albert  C Pater.son. 

Durand,  James  II Railway. 

Tillou,  Edward  L Elizabeth. 

Tilden,  Thonuis  W Jerst>y  City, 

Pennsylvania. 

Vallerchamj),  John Harrisburg. 

Knapp,  Christian  F Bloomsburg. 

Lutz,  Isaac  D Harrisburg. 

Ilunn,  Townsend  S New  York. 

Earley.  Charles  R Ridgeway. 

Egle,  William  II Ilarri.'^burg. 

Muckle,  Mark  R Phihulelphia, 

Patton,  Thomas  R Philadelphia, 

Sartain,   John Philadoljjhia. 

Wyckoff,  Edward  S Philadelphia. 

Hopkins,  James  H Washington.   D.  C. 

Barber,  James  S Philadelphia. 

Carroll,  De\Vitt  C Pittsburg. 

Garrigues,  Franklin Philadelphia. 

Balmain,  George  P Pittsburg. 

Eichbaum,  Joseph Pittsburg. 


64 


FREEMASONRY 


Pennsylvania. — Continued. 

Meredith,   William  B Kittanning. 

Clapp,  John  M Tidioute. 

Lyte,  Eliphalct  0 Millersville. 

Francis,  Charles  K Philadelphia. 

Ciimniiugs.  Charles  11 Maiieh  Chunk. 

Shaffer,   Vosburgh  N Pha^iixville. 

Lyte,  Joshna  L Lancaster. 

Wray,  Samuel  W Philadelphia. 

Henderson,  Matthias  H New  Castle. 

Slack,  William  H Allegheny  City. 

Kerr,  James,  Jr Pittsburg. 

Arnold,  John  B Aurora,  111. 

Eaby,  Joel  S Lancaster. 

Kennedy,  Samuel  B Erie. 

Thompson,  Caleb  C Warren. 

Smith,  Lee  S Pittsburg. 

Himrod,  William Erie. 

Gary,  Charles Philadelphia. 

Dunnell,  Henry  N Scranton. 

Kendrick,  George  W.,  Jr. . .  .Philadelphia. 

Bates,  Stockton Philadelphia. 

Sprenkel,  Peter  K Harrisburg. 

Holmes,  Americus  Y Pittsburg. 

Kuhn,  Henry  H Somerset. 

McClees,   Levi  B Germantown,  Phila. 

Steffe,  Christian  G Reading. 

Linden,  Robert  J Philadelphia. 

Wigley,   Arthur  B Pittsburg. 

Stevenson,  David  A Pittsburg. 

Barkey,  Peter Erie. 

Hall,   Amos  H Philadelphia. 

Smith,  Edgar  F Philadeljihia. 

Gilroy,  John  J Philadelphia. 

McKillip,  Harvey  A Bloomsburg. 

Williams,  J.  H Philadelphia. 

Johnstone,  George  C Allegheny. 

Sweigard,  Isaac  A Philadelphia. 

Boone,  Edwin Reading. 

Brown,  James  W Pittsburg. 

Bishop,  Alfred  S Pittsburg. 

Hale,  George Philadelphia. 

Ohio. 
Cunningham,  William  M. . .  .Newark. 

Hoadley,  George Cincinnati. 

Woodward,  Charles  A Cleveland. 

Keifer,  Charles  C Urbana. 

Totten,  James  S Lebanon. 

Ross,  ApoUos  M Cincinnati. 

Huston,  Alexander  B Cincinnati. 

Urner,  Henry  C Cincinnati. 

Mack,  Max  J Cincinnati. 

Parsons,  J.  B Cleveland. 

Sickels,  Sheldon Cleveland. 

Collins,  Charles  A Akron. 


Buechner,  William  L Youngstown. 

Gordon,  Theodore  P Columbus. 

Ncmbach,  Andrew Cincinnati. 

Sage,  George  R Cincinnati. 

Whitaker,  Ej)hraim  S Garretsville. 

Fasold,  Eli Dayton. 

Caldwell,  John  D  ........ .  .Cincinnati. 

Patton,  Alexander  G Columbus. 

Houck,  Martin  J Dayton. 

Chambei'lin,  John  W Tiflfin. 

Yance,  Alexander  F.,  Jr Urbana. 

Hauipson,  Robert  Y Salem. 

Halladay,  Calvin Lima. 

Goodspeed,  Josei^h  McK Athens. 

Melish,  William  B Cincinnati. 

Briggs,  Sam Cleveland. 

Wiiiegarner,  David  C Newark. 

Shepard,  William Columbus. 

Cutler,  Eben  J Cleveland. 

Page,  Edward  D Cleveland. 

Gwyini,  Robert Cincinnati. 

Pelton,  Frederick  W Cleveland. 

Akers,  W^illiam  J Cleveland. 

King,  David  L Akron. 

Brown,  Huntington Mansfield. 

Moore,  Sidney Delaware. 

Dunn,  Joseph  H Columbus. 

Harris,  John  T Columbus. 

Chamberlain,  Charles  W  . . .  .Dayton. 

Matthews,  Edward  W Cambridge. 

Armstrong,  Clax'ence  E Toledo. 

Stipp,  Joseph  A Toledo. 

Flach,  Charles  H Cincinnati. 

Michie,  William Cincinnati. 

Tucker,  Charles  H Cleveland. 

Williams,  Samuel  S Newark. 

Hays,  Otho  L Gallon. 

Parsons,  John  W Springfield. 

Jeffers,  Allen Dayton. 

Senter,  Orestes  A.  B Columbus. 

Collins,  ^ames  A Cincinnati. 

Morse,  Fred  A Cleveland. 

Lyttle,  La  Fayette Toledo. 

Bell,  John  N Dayton. 

Goodale,  Levi  C Cincinnati. 

Lemmon,  Reuben  C Toledo. 

Avery,  William  R Cincinnati. 

Rickley,  R.  R Columbus. 

Spencer,  Joseph  M Toledo. 

Walden,  John  M Cincinnati. 

Morris,  Evan Girrard. 

Melish,  Thomas  J Cincinnati. 

Andrews,  Allen Hamilton. 

Baldwin,  Charles  F Mt.  Yernon. 

Burdick,  Leander Toledo. 

Sands,  Stephen  P Cincinnati. 


FREEMASONRY 


65 


Ohio. — Continued. 

Perkins,  Henry Akron. 

Cotterall,  Joseph  W.,  Jr Cincinnati. 

Buchwalter,  ^Morris  L Cincinnati. 

Butler,  Charles  R Cleveland. 

Squire,  Andrew Cleveland. 

Mcintosh,  Henry  P Cleveland. 

Blyth.  John Bucyrus. 

Boone,  William  K Lima. 

Schaus,  Lewis  P Newark. 

Pfafflin,  Herman  C Cincinnati. 

Irvin,  Horace  A Dayton. 

Jackson,  Mervin Toledo. 

Stull.  John  M Warren. 

Bromwell,  Jacob  H Cincinnati. 

Keiniedy,  Henry  A Canton. 

Sater,  John  E Columbus. 

McCune,  John  P Columbus. 

King,  Edmund  B Sandusky. 

Johnston,  J.  Russell Dayton. 

Bushnell,  Asa  S Springfield. 

Lewis,  Charles  T Toledo. 

Bates,  William  L Dayton. 

Kite,  Thomas Cincinnati. 

Michigan. 

Brown,  Charles  H Grand  Rapids. 

Tabor,  Augustus  B Detroit. 

Kellogg,  Andrew  J Detroit. 

Bury,  Richard  A Adrian. 

Hills,  Charles  T Muskegon. 

Shipman.  Ozias  W Detroit. 

Fox,  Perrin  V Grand  Rapids. 

Haxton,  Benjamin  F Detroit. 

Thorp,  Darius  D Detroit. 

Baxter,  William  H Detroit. 

Striker,  Daniel Hastings. 

Henderson,  Frank Kalannizoo. 

Pomeroy,  Charles  H East  Saginaw. 

Swart  out,  Richard  D Grand  Rapids. 

Corljss,  John  B Detroit. 

Coulson,  Nicholas Detroit. 

Chamberlain,  M.  Howard. . .  .Detroit. 

Gilbert,  Frank  0 Bay  City. 

Moore,  Francis  M Marquette. 

Sharp,  Edgar  M Bay  City. 

Maybury.  William  C Detroit. 

Steerc,  Joseph  H Sault  Ste.  Marie. 

Emery,  Temple P^ast  Tawas. 

Dunham,  William Grand  Rapids. 

Ellis,  Waring  H Detroit. 

Conover,  Jefferson  H Coldwater. 

Hudson,  William  G Ludington. 

Wlieeler,  Edward  D Manistee. 

Palmer,  Thomas  W Detroit. 

Stephenson,  Samuel  M Menominee. 

5 


Davis,  James  E Detroit. 

Livingstone,  William,  Jr Detroit. 

Findlater,  James Detroit. 

Smith,  George  D Muskegon. 

Fifield,  Eugene Bay  City. 

May  worm,  Joseph Detroit. 

Fowle,  George  W Detroit. 

Meigs,  Alfred  E Detroit. 

Bolton,  Henry Alj)ena. 

Duncan,  John Calumet. 

Gerow,  John  A Detroit. 

Williams,  Thomas  H Jackson. 

Stiles,  Albert JacLson. 

McGee,  Michael  B.   Crystal  Falls. 

Munroe,  Thomas Muskegon. 

Winsor,  Lou  B Reed  City. 

Montross,  Richard  W Galien. 

Jewott,  William  E Adrian. 

Heald,  Charles  M Grand  Rapids. 

Harris,  L.  D Grand  Rapids. 

Osborn,  James  W Kalamazoo. 

Indiana. 

Hess,  .James  W Indianapolis. 

Fish,  George  H New  York  City. 

Bonsall.  Nathaniel  F New  Albany. 

Thayer,  Henry  G Plymouth. 

Davis,  Gilbert  W Indianapolis. 

Rice,  Martin  II Indianapolis. 

Douglas,  Sydney  W Evansville. 

Smith,  Jacob  W Indianapolis. 

Vail,  Walter Michigan  City. 

Butler,  John  L Vincennes. 

Robie ,  William  J Richmond. 

Brown.  Austin  II Indianapolis. 

Elliott,  Byron  K Indianapolis. 

Brush,  John  T Indianajwlis. 

Adams,  Henry  C Indianapolis. 

McKinley,  Thomas  S Terre  Haute. 

Sweet,  Samuel  B Fort  Wayne. 

Smythe,  William  H Indianapolis. 

Cole,  Cyrill  B Seymour. 

Cruft,  John  W Terre  Haute. 

Smith,  Joseph  L Richmond. 

Safford,  James  B Craflou,  Pa. 

Hawkins,  Roscoc  0 Indianapolis. 

Nye,  Mortimer La  Porte. 

Long,  Thomas  B Terre  Haute. 

Moycr,  Henry  A Kendall ville. 

Manning,  Jo.seph  A ^lichigan  City. 

Pixley,  George  W Fort  Wayne. 

Geake,  William Fort  Wayne. 

Farrington,  George  E Terre  Haute. 

Leighty,  Jacob  D St.  Joe. 

Ilutciiinson,  Charles  L Indianapolis. 

White,  Ahira  R Indianapolis. 


66 


FREEMASONRY 


Jndiana. — CotiHnued. 

McKee,  William  J Indianapolis. 

Niblack,  Mason  J Vincennes. 

Butler,  ]\Ijih]on  D Indianapolis. 

Lancaster,  Ilcnrv  H Lafayette. 

Sciiinidt,  W.  II Indianapolis. 

Sloan,  George  White Indianapolis. 

Ilulliday,  J.  11 Indianapolis. 

Elliott,  Nathan  Kelley Terre  Haute. 

Coulter,  James  P Aurora. 

Bass,  John  H Fort  Wayne. 

Wood,  Julius  C Muncie. 

Nichols,  Alonzo  S JMiehigan  City. 

Gillett,  Simeon  P Evansville. 

Mordhurst,  II.  W. Fort  Wayne. 

Marshall,  Thomas  R Columbia  City. 

Illinois. 

Turner,  William  H  Chicago. 

Ranney,  Ilenry  C Chicago. 

Gale,  William  H Chicago. 

Patrick,  Benjamin  F Boston,  Mass. 

Munn,  Loyal  L Freeport. 

Myers,  Eugene  B Chicago. 

Egan,  Wiley  M Chicago. 

Purdy,  Warren  G Chicago. 

Getty,  Ilenry  PI Chicago. 

Pond,  Ilenry  11 Chicago. 

Cregier,  DeWitt  C Chicago. 

Skinkle,  Jacob  W Chicago. 

O'Neil,  John Chicago. 

Brad  well,  James  B Chicago. 

Clarke,  Haswell  C Kankakee. 

McLaren,  John Chicago. 

Russell,  Alfred Chicago. 

Church,  James  E Chicago. 

Bannister,  James Peoria. 

Johnson,  Robert  M Chicago. 

Poulson,  W^illiam  E Chicago. 

Pace,  Edward  Coleman Ashley. 

Pearson,  John  Mills Godfrey. 

Hitchcock,  Charles  Freeman.  .Peoria. 

Miller,  De  Laskie Chicago. 

Milligan,  William  Lee  Roy. .  .Ottawa. 

Moulton,  George  M Chicago. 

Bliss,  Eliakim  R Chicago. 

Edwards,  Isaac  C Peoria. 

Warvelle,  George  W Chicago. 

Herrick.  Charles  K Chicago. 

Gunther,  Charles  F Chicago. 

MuUiner,  Edward  S Quincy. 

Stoskopf,   Michael Freeport. 

Stoker,  Eugene  Le  C Centralia. 

Spies,  Joseph Chicago. 

Curtis,  George  W Peoria. 

McLean,  Alexander Macomb. 

Luce,  Frank  M Chicago. 


McLellan,  Archibald Chicago. 

Works,  Charles  A Rockford. 

Walshe,  Robert  J Chicago. 

Lorimer,  George  C Boston,  Mass. 

Wiltse,  Hiram  L Chicago. 

Spring,  Sylvester  O Peoria. 

Smith,  Robert  A Chicago. 

May,  John  A Chicago, 

Norton,  John  E Chicago. 

Blocki,  William  F Chicago. 

Knight,  William  M Chicago. 

McFatrich,  James  B Chicago. 

Drake,  Chester  T Chicago. 

Goddard,  Leroy  A Chicago. 

Rhodes,  Henry  L Centralia. 

Rankin,  Charles  S Chicago. 

Roundy,  Frank  C Chicago. 

Ramsay,  Frederic  M Chicago. 

Montgomery,  Isaac  S Rockford. 

Haskins,  Seth  F Peoria. 

Wisconsin. 

Youngs,  Melvin  L Milwaukee. 

Palmer,  William  T Milwaukee. 

Greeley,  Samuel  F Chicago,  111. 

Wilkinson,  Francis  M Milwaukee. 

Haisler,  Michael  J Milwaukee. 

Suessmilch,  Frederick  L.  von  Delavan. 

Rogers,  Charles  D Milwaukee. 

Bracken,  Henry  S Milwaukee. 

Benzenberg,  George  H Milwaukee. 

Brazier,  William  H Milwaukee. 

Libbey,  Oliver Green  Bay. 

Crosby,  Francis  J Milwaukee. 

Watrous,  Jerome  A Milwaukee. 

Cole,  Sidney  H Milwaukee. 

Stark,  Edwards  J Milwaukee. 

Jackson,  E.  Gilbert Oshkosh. 

Fifield,  Samuel  S Ashland. 

Bingham,  Joel  W Milwaukee. 

Storke,  Eugene  F Milwaukee. 

Laflin,  John  W .Milwaukee. 

Golley,  Frank  B Milwaukee. 

Miller,  Daniel  McL Oconomowoc. 

Caufy,  Luther  L Milwaukee. 

Daniels,  Norman  C Milwaukee. 

Leuzarder,  Benjamin  T Milwaukee. 

Wagner,  Adolph  H Milwaidcee. 

Hooley,  George  T Milwaiikee. 

Wechselberg,  Julius Milwaukee. 

Littlejohn,  Newton  M Whitewater. 

Whitney,  LeRoy  C Milwaukee. 

Kenny,  William  P Milwaukee. 

Non-resident  Honorary  Ilembers. 

Wadsworth,  James  C.  L San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Filmer,  William San  Francisco,  CaL 

Stevens,  Enoch  B Southport,  N.  C. 


FREEMASONRY"   AMONG   THE   CHINESE 


67 


Millard,  Alden  C Iiulej)oiulcnce,  Mo. 

Wheeler,  Frederick  A Baltimore,  Md. 

Brown,  Edward  H Grass  Valley,  Cal. 

Richardson,  Lloyd  D Hot  Springs,  Ark. 

Concordant  Orders. 

Royal  Order  of  Scotland.  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge,  U.  S.  A.,  W.  Oscar  Roome,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Knights  of  the  Red  Cross  of  Constantine.  Chap- 
ter General,  U.  S.  A. ;  Secretary  General,  Chas.  K. 
Francis,  425  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Knights  of  the  Red  Cross  of  Rome  and  Constan- 
tine, Sovereign  Grand  Council  ;  Registrar  General, 
Thomas  Leahy,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Non-Masonic  Bodies  to  which  only  Freemasons 
ARE  Eligible. 

Modern  Socieli/  of  Rosicrucians.  Thomas  J. 
Shryock,  Treasurer  General,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Xohles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine.  Imperial  Recorder,  Benj.  W.  Rowell,  28 
School  Street,  Boston,  ^lass. 

Sovereign  College  Allied  Manonic  Degrees.  Grand 
Recorder  General, Charles  A.  Xesbitt,Richmond,  Va. 

Mystic  Order,  Veiled  Projihets  of  the  KncJianted 
Realm.  Grand  Secretary,  Sydney  D.  Smith,  Ham- 
ilton, X.  Y. 

Independent  International  Order  of  Owls.  Ad- 
dress John  M.  Sears,  Xashville,  Tenn. 

Irregular  or  Spurious  Masonic  Bodies. 

Various  Grand  and  Subordinate  Lodges,  "An- 
cient and  Honorable  Order,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons'';  Grand  and  Subordinate  Chapters  of 
Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  Grand  and  Subordinate 
Encampments  of  Knights  Templars.  (See  Free- 
masonry among  Xegroes.)  Enoch  R.  Spaulding, 
Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master,  Oswego,  X.  Y. ; 
Edward  B.  Irving,  Past  Grand  Master  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  Xew  York,  and  John 
H.  Deyo,  Grand  Secretary,  Albany. 

Supreme  Council,  A.  A.  S.  R..  ^^  Northern  Juris- 
diction," U.  S.  A.  (Xegro).  S.  C.  Scottron,  Grand 
Commander,  Brooklyn,  X.  Y. 

Supreme  Council,  A.  A.  S.  R.,  for  the  U.  S.  A., 
its  Territories  and  Dependencies  (Seymour-Cerneau 
rite).  Charles  II.  Benson,  Grand  Commander, 
Jersey  City,  X.  J. 

Supreme  Council,  A.  A.  S.  R.,  U.  S.  A.,  its  Ter- 
ritories and  Dependencies  (Thompson-Cerneau).  J. 
G.  Barker,  Grand  Secretary  General,  63  Bleeeker 
Street,  Xew  York. 

Supreme  Council,  A.  A.  S.  R.,  U.  S.  A.,  Southern 
and  Western  Jurisdiction  (Xegro).  Thornton  A. 
Jackson,  Grand  Commander.  Washington,  D.  C. 


Supreme  Council,  A.  A.  S.  R.,  U.  S.  A.,  North- 
ivestern  Jurisdiction  (Xegro).  M.  F.  Fields,  Grand 
Commander,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine  of  North  and  South  America  (Xegro).  Ad- 
dress Robert  Hncless,  Xew  York  ;  John  G.  Jones, 
Chicago. 

"  Freemasonry  "  among  the  Chinese. 

— There  is  no  such  thing  as  Freema.sonry 
among  the  Chinese,  although  there  are  Chi- 
nese secret  societies  in  the  United  States 
which  have  been  described  as  organizations 
of  Chinese  "  Freemasons."  This  is  because 
the  word  Freemasonry  has  been  associated  so 
many  years  in  the  minds  of  the  public  with 
a  particular  secret  society  that  it  has  become 
almost  generic  or  descriptive  of  all  things 
regarded  as  similar.  !Mauy  terms  and 
j^hrases  have  crept  out  of  Masonic  Lodges 
and  into  the  American  vernacular,  of  which 
"On  the  square,"  "A  square  man,"  and 
"  On  the  level,"  are  perhaps  the  best  illus- 
trations. Even  the  word  Freemasonry  itself 
has  acquired  a  specialized  meaning,  and  is 
frequentl}^  iised  to  characterize  associations 
which  are  secret,  members  of  which  have 
private  means  of  making  themselves  known 
to  each  other,  and  to  explain  why  those 
engaged  in  a  similar  work  or  profession,  or 
those  having  like  training  or  sympathetic 
temperaments,  are  so  quick  to  recognize  the 
fact.  Thus  it  is  that  whether  referring  to  a 
Russian,  Hottentot,  or  Arabic  secret  society 
one  finds  the  average  essayist  describing  them 
as  Masonic.  There  are  Masonic  Lodges  in 
China,  but  they  Avork  under  foreign  war- 
rants, and  are  made  up  almost  exclusively, 
if  not  entirely,  of  others  than  Chinese. 
There  is,  however,  a  shadow  of  an  excuse 
for  referring  to  some  Chinese  secret  societies 
as  Chinese  "Freemasonry,"  owing  to  the 
striking  resemblances  between  their  rites 
and  ceremonies  and  those  of  the  Freema- 
sons. This  is  the  more  remarkable  when 
one  recalls  the  antiquity  of  both,  and  the 
lack  of  opportunity  for  either  to  have  pat- 
terned after  the  other.  The  Chinese  Em- 
pire is  honeycombed  with  secret  societies, 
nearlv  all  of  which  are  revolutionarv.  hav- 


68 


FREEMASONRY "  AMONG   THE   CHINESE 


iag  in  view  the  downfall  of  the  T'sing  dyn- 
asty, a  most  efficient  incentive  to  secrecy. 
There  is  generally  present  a  nominally  ben- 
evolent or  philanthropic  object,  veiling  the 
political  ends  of  these  organizations,  the 
names  of  the  best  known  of  which  are  the 
Hung  League,  from  which  came  the  Kolao 
Hui,  the  White  Lily,  or  White  Lotns,  or 
"Do  Nothing"  Association;  the  Society  of 
Heaven,  Earth,  and  Man  ;  the  Triad  Soci- 
ety ;  the  Yellow  Caps  ;  and  the  Golden  Lily 
Hui,  which  are  arranged  in  military  form 
under  four  flags,  whence  they  have  come  to 
be  known  as  the  "White  Flags,  "  "Black 
Flags,"  "'  Eed  Flags,"  and  "  Yellow  Flags. " 
It  was  due  to  the  action  of  the  Hung  League 
that  the  Mongol  dynasty  of  Genjhiz  Khan 
was  overthrown,  and  without  British  aid  the 
present  or  Manchu  dynasty  would  probably 
have  come  to  an  end  at  the  time  of  the  strug- 
gle with  the  T'ai  Pings.  The  most  power- 
ful of  these  societies  is  the  Kolao  Hui,  which 
numbers  more  than  1,000,000  members,  as 
related  by  a  writer  in  "  Blackwood's  Maga- 
zine "  in  1896,  recruited  from  the  dregs  of 
society,  "  time  expired  soldiers,"  unem- 
ployed laboring  people,  and  professional 
thieves.  This  accounts  for  the  disorder, 
crime,  and  violence  for  which  it  is  noted. 
The  sect  known  as  the  Vegetarians,  with 
rites  and  ceremonies  showing  traces  of 
"some  early  and  debased  form  of  Christian- 
ity," is  responsible  for  several  massacres  of 
Christian  missionaries.  It  was  after  being 
hard  jsressed  by  the  authorities  that  it  en- 
deavored to  sink  its  identity  under  the  name 
of  the  "Do-Nothing  Party."  The  Kolao 
Hui  is  governed  by  three  chiefs,  and  mock- 
ingly inscribes  the  words  "Faith"  and 
"  Eighteousness  "  upon  its  banners.  The 
religious  claims  of  this  and  like  societies 
have  induced  the  Chinese  Government  from 
time  to  time  to  proscribe  as  dangerous  or- 
ganizations all  religious  sects  (except  Con- 
fucianism, Buddhism,  and  Taoism),  notably 
the  Roman  Catholics,  by  the  Emperor  Yung 
Ch'eng. 

Lodges  of   the  Hung  League  and  of  its 


offspring,  the  Kolao  Hui,  meet  in  remote 
and  heavily  wooded  mountain  districts.  On 
entering,  members  proceed  to  the  first,  or 
Heaven-screen  Pass,  next  to  the  Earth-net, 
and  thence  to  the  Sun-moon  Pass,  after 
which  they  cross  a  bridge  to  the  Hall  of 
Fidelity  and  Loyalty,  to  the  shrines  of  the 
five  ancestors,  on  the  right  a  council  room 
and  on  the  left  a  court.  This  account,  con- 
densed from  the  one  "discovered  by  Pro- 
fessor Schlegel,"  adds  that  from  the  court 
extends  a  long  road,  between  mountain  and 
sea,  leading  to  the  Moss  Pass,  or  Pavilion  of 
the  Black  River,  and  thirteen  Chinese  miles 
farther  is  the  Golden  Sparrow  frontier, 
where  there  are  four  buildings,  the  last  of 
which  is  "  the  Lodge,"  or  "  city  of  willows. " 
Recruits,  sometimes  secured  under  threats 
to  kill  for  refusal  to  join  the  society,  are 
received  into  the  Lodge  by  "passing  the 
bridge,"  marching  under  an  arch,  or  bridge, 
formed  by  the  swords  of  the  brethren,  when 
they  are  addressed  as  to  the  objects  of  the 
association  and  listen  to  a  lengthy  catechism, 
in  Avhich  they  are  supposed  to  make  the  re- 
plies. The  questions  and  answers  are  sig- 
nificant of  the  aims  of  the  society,  abound- 
ing in  acrostics  and  Kabbalistic  meanings 
which  are  employed  as  passwords.  The 
candidates  wash  their  faces,  and  after  being 
divested  of  their  ordinary  clothing  are  at- 
tired in  white  robes.  Then  follows  a  long 
oath,  in  which  are  invoked  Father  Heaven, 
Mother  Earth,  the  three  lights — sun,  moon, 
and  stars — the  gods,  saints,  genii,  Buddhas, 
and  all  the  star  jirinces,  to  keep  and  per- 
form which  the  candidates  bind  themselves 
under  a  series  of  "dire  pains  and  penal- 
ties." The  oath  is  confirmed  by  drinking 
tea  and  wine  from  a  bowl  in  which  are 
mixed  a  few  drops  of  blood  pricked  from 
the  middle  fingers  of  the  candidates.  The 
oath  is  registered  by  burning  a  copy  of  it 
that  the  smoke  may  ascend  to  the  gods  as 
testimony.  Each  newly-made  member  re- 
ceives a  cryptographical  certificate  of  mem- 
bershiiJ  which  is  held  to  possess  talismanic 
powers,  and  is  enjoined  to  "  learn  the  secret 


"FREEMASONRY"  AMONG   THE   CHINESE 


69 


signs  and  mystic  sayings  by  whicli  the  breth- 
ren are  known  to  one  another — how  to  lift 
his  tea-ciip  witli  tliree  fingers,  place  his  feet 
in  certain  positions,  liow  to  wind  his  hand- 
kerchief round  the  end  of  his  umbrella,  to 
ask  and  answer  mysterious  catch  questions, 
to  speak  of  the  government  as  "  the  en- 
emy," of  government  soldiers  as  "  a  storm," 
of  men  as  "horses,"  and  of  other  common 
objects  in  Hui  slang.  The  Triad  Society 
claims  to  be  the  oldest  existing  Chinese 
secret  organization,  dating  "  back  to  16G4 
A.D,"  It  Avas  the  cause  of  the  T'ai  Ping 
rebellion,  which  was  suppressed  by  Li  Hung 
Chang  aided  by  ''Chinese"  Gordon.  Its 
secret  ceremonies  are  similar  to  those  of  the 
Hung  League,  and  among  the  penalties  for 
treason,  one  is  to  have  the  ears  lopped  ofE, 
and  another  the  head  cut  off.  Members  al- 
ways halt  on  entering  a  house,  and  then 
proceed  with  the  left  foot  first.  When  sit- 
ting, they  place  their  toes  together  and  spread 
their  heels  apart.  They  also  recognize  one 
another  by  the  way  they  place  their  tea- 
cups on  the  table  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  hitch  their  trousers.  Their  motto  is, 
"Drive  out  the  Tartar."  The  "Black- 
wood" article  on  "Secret  Societies  in 
China,"  reprinted  in  the  St.  Louis  "Globe 
Democrat,"  .January  17,  1897,  says  further: 

It  is  impossible  to  study  these  rites  and  cere- 
monies without  recognizing  a  strong  resembhmce 
between  them  and  some  of  those  of  the  Freemasons. 
"  The  Bridge  of  Swords  "  is  common  to  both  socie- 
ties, as  are  also  the  formation  of  Lodges  and  their 
Orientation.  In  both  societies  the  members  are 
entitled  brothers,  and  confirm  their  oatli  with 
blood.  During  the  ceremony  of  affiliation  the 
recruits,  both  among  the  Freemasons  and  the  Hung 
League,  attire  themselves  in  white  garments  and  go 
through  the  form  of  purification  l)y  washing.  In 
the  Cliinese  Lodges  the  triangle  is  a  favorite  emblem, 
and  lamj)s,  steelyards,  and  scales  form  part  of  the 
ordinary  paraphernalia.  It  is  curious  to  observe, 
also,  that  the  three  degrees  of  Apprentice,  Fellow- 
craft,  and  Master  among  the  Freemasons  find  their 
analogues  in  the  Sworn-Brother,  Adopted-Brother, 
and  Righteous  L^ncle  in  use  in  the  Chinese  Society. 

AVith  the  foregoing  outline  of  secret  soci- 
eties in  China,  it  becomes  easier  to  arrive  at 


an  intelligible  idea  of  secret  societies  of  Chi- 
nese in  the  United  States,  members  of  which 
have  been  refen-ed  to  as  Chinese  Freema- 
sons. An  Associated  Press  despatch  from 
San  Francisco,  November  14,  1894,  read  in 
part  as  follows : 

The  police  have  obtained  evidence  of  the  exis- 
tence of  a  lawless  and  strongly  organized  band  of 
Chinese  Highbinders,  said  to  be  3,000  in  number, 
in  this  city.  This  society  is  not  only  an  organiza- 
tion of  blackmailers,  murderers,  and  thieved,  but 
also  has  for  its  purpose  the  overthrow  of  the  present 
Tartar  dynasty. 

This  suggests  what  is  well  known  to  many 
on  the  Pacific  Coast,  that  whether  the  High- 
binders, as  they  are  called,  are  members  of 
the  Kolao  Hui  or  of  the  Triad  Societies  or 
not^  they  are  gradtiates  of  the  same  school, 
and  many  members  of  the  Triad  Society  and 
Kolao  Hui  are  evidently  associated  with  the 
Highbinders.  The  different  associations  of 
the  latter  are  knoAvn  as  Tongs,  and  it  is  said 
that  some  reputable  Chinese  belong  to  them 
in  order  to  secure  protection  from  "  levies  " 
by  rival  Tongs.  Business  disputes  and  jeal- 
ousy lead  to  fights  between  Tongs,  in  which 
blued  (never  nickeled)  44-caliber  Colt  re- 
volvers, carried  in  the  ample  sleeves  of  the 
Highbinders,  are  the  almost  universal  weap- 
ons. Evidence  to  convict  those  guilty  of 
assaults  or  murder  is  not  easy  to  obtain,  and 
when  cases  do  get  into  the  courts,  perjury 
is  the  rule  and  difficult  to  detect.  One  of 
the  bitterest  feuds  between  these  organiza- 
tions in  San  Francisco  is  that  which  has 
raged  for  years  between  the  Suey  Sing  Tong 
and  the  Suey  on  Tong,  causing  much  blood- 
shed and  work  for  the  courts. 

The  Spokane  "  Peview,"  August  21, 
1897,  outlined  an  imitation  ceremony  at  a 
Chinese  "  Masonic  "  Lodge  in  that  city,  at 
which  it  was  said  four  white  men.  Free- 
masons, were  present  by  invitation.  The 
ceremonies  seemed  to  parallel  those  of  the 
Hung  League  and  Kolao  Hui,  already  re- 
ferred to,  from  which  it  nuiy  be  inferred  the 
Spokane  Chinese  Lodge  represents  a  benevo- 
lent branch  of  the  Kolao  Hui,  of  which  less 


70 


FREEMASONRY   AMONG   THE   MORMONS 


is  heard  in  China  than  of  the  main  or  revo- 
hitionary  and  violent  section  of  that  society. 
There  Avere  references  to  "the  immortal 
three,"  circumambulation,  four  stations  at 
Avhich  questions  were  asked  and  answers 
returned,  kneeling  on  crossed  swords,  tea- 
drinking,  burning  incense,  a  "  traditional  " 
season  of  refreshment,  and  signs  in  which 
the  head  and  hands  Avere  used ;  yet  the  "  oc- 
cidental Masons  present  Avere  unable  to  de- 
tect anything  that  resembled  the  Masonry 
with  Avhich  they  Avere  familiar." 

Chinese  secret  societies  in  the  United 
States  originated  in  one  or  more  of  those  in 
China,  and  are  found  at  almost  all  Ameri- 
can centres  of  jiopulation  Avliere  there  are  a 
considerable  number  of  Chinese,  more  par- 
ticularly at  NcAV  York  city  and  at  cities  on 
the  Pacific  Coast.  ISTearly  all  of  them  east 
of  the  Eocky  Mountains  are  rather  more 
reputable  than  the  Tongs  of  San  Francisco, 
but  none  of  them  is  Masonic  in  character  or 
has  any  affiliation  Avith  Masonic  bodies. 

Freemasonry  among  the  Mormons. — 
Whether  the  so-called  t\velve  Mormon  apos- 
tles were  Freemasons  or  not,  and  Avhether 
or  not  the  Mormon  hierarchy  utilized  vari- 
ous Masonic  forms  in  their  endowment 
house  ceremonies  at  Salt  Lake  City,  have 
long  been  matters  of  controversy;  but  the 
following  extracts  from  replies  to  letters  of 
inquiry  on  these  points  leave  them  no  longer 
in  doubt. 

From  Christopher  Diehl,  Salt  Lake  City, 
Utah,  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge, 
A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Utah,  May  4,  1896: 

I  have  been  a  resident  of  this  city  since  186G,  and 
a  Mason  since  1868.  ...  In  the  early  days 
much  was  said  about  Mormon  Masonry  in  Nauvoo 
(Illinois),  but  whether  there  was  any  such  thing,  I 
could  never  tell.  We  never  admitted  Mormons  to 
our  Lodges  in  those  days.  ...  It  was,  however, 
reported  that  there  were  Masons  among  them,  more 
especially  B.  Young,  who  was  then  alive,  and  I 
doubt  not  he  was,  but  could  not  swear  to  it.  .  .  . 
In  the  early  days  I  made  a  study  of  Mormon  Ma- 
sonry, and  wrote  considerably  about  it  in  my  reports 
on  correspondence,  because  the  stand  of  Utah  Ma- 
sons was  attacked  for  refusing  Mormons  admission 
to  our  Lodges. 


From  J.  H.  C.  Dill,  Bloomington,  Illi- 
nois, Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge, 
F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Illinois,  May  11,  1806  : 

I  have  no  way  of  telling  whether  or  not  any  of 
the  twelve  Mormon  apostles  were  members  of  the 
(Masonic)  Lodge  at  Nauvoo.  Possibly  returns  were 
made,  but  this  office  has  twice  been  burned  out, 
and  all  records  destroyed.  I  can  give  the  names 
and  addresses  of  two  old  and  prominent  Masons 
who  know  a  great  deal  about  the  Mormon  troubles, 
and  were  present  when  "  old  Joe  Smith  "  was  killed: 
B.  Mendenhall,  Dallas  City,  and  William  R.  Hamil- 
ton, Carthage,  111. 

From  Theodore  S.  Parvin,  Cedar  Kapids, 
Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  F.  and 
A.  M.,  of  Iowa,  May  6,  1896  : 

I  personally  and  officially  know  that  the  Mormons 
had  a  (Masonic)  Lodge  at  Nauvoo  (Illinois)  in  the 
years  1840  to  the  period  they  removed  from  Illinois 
to  Kanesville,  Council  Bluffs,  la.,  and  later  to  Salt 
Lake  City.  I  know,  further,  that  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Illinois  revoked  the  charter  of  that  Lodge,  but 
the  Mormons  refused  to  surrender  it  .  .  .  and 
took  it  with  them,  and  worked  a  Lodge  in  Salt  Lake 
City  under  that  charter.  I  know  very  well,  also, 
from  attendance  upon  the  Grand  Lodge,  that  it  was 
distinctly  stated  then  and  there  .  .  .  that  Jo- 
seph Smith  was  a  Mason  ;  and  I  have  no  doubt,  also, 
that  Brigham  Young  was  a  member  of  the  same 
Lodge. 

From  William  E.  Hamilton,  Past  Master 
of  Hancock  Lodge,  ?fo.  20,  F.  and  A.  M., 
Carthage,  111.,  May  26,  1896  : 

At  the  time  of  the  Mormon  era  in  this  county  I 
was  but  a  boy  of  eleven  years,  and  could  only  know 
about  Masonry  by  hearing  men  that  I  knew  to  be 
Masons  talk  about  it.  It  was  claimed  and  believed 
that  spurious  Masons  were  being  made  (at  Nauvoo) 
about  1842-43,  and  the  Lodge  at  this  place  ceased  to 
work  on  that  account.  .  .  .  Brother  Edmunds 
resided  at  Nauvoo  for  many  years,  .  .  .  and,  in 
all  probability,  is  the  only  man  in  this  county  who 
was  a  Mason  at  that  time. 

From  G.  Edmunds,  attorney,  Carthage, 
111.,  to  W.  K.  Hamilton  of  the  same  place. 
May  25, 1896  : 

The  charter  of  what  was  known  as  the  Mormon 
Masonic  Lodge  at  Nauvoo  had  been  surrendered 
before  I  settled  there,  in  1845,  and  I  only  know 
from  hearsay  and  talk  with  members  of  that  Lodge, 
who  afterwards  became  members  of  Reclamation 
Lodge,  No.  54  (where  I  was  made  a  Mason),  who 


FREEMASONRY  AMONG  THE  MORMONS 


71 


were  members  of  the  original  Lodge  at  Nauvoo. 
Dr.  John  P.  Weld,  a  member  of  Reclamation 
Lodge,  No.  54,  informed  me  he  was  a  member  of  the 
original  Nauvoo  Lodge;  also  that  Brigham  Young, 
Orson  Hyde,  Wilford  WoodruiT,  IleberC.  Kimball, 
William  Smith,  and  others  of  the  "  Twelve 
Apostles"  were  members  of  the  said  original 
(Nauvoo)  Masonic  Lodge,  as  were  also  Joseph  the 
prophet,  and  Iliram  Smitli,  his  brother.  There 
was  no  connection  between  the  IMormon  endow- 
ment house  and  Masonry,  none  whatever. 

Contributed  by  B.  Mendenbiill,  Dallas 
City,  111.  (District  Deputy  Grand  Master  of 
the  Grand  Lodge,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Illinois 
in  1882),  May  23,  1896  : 

In  the  year  1839-40  the  Mormons  began  to 
gather  at  Nauvoo,  111.,  and  build  a  town,  or,  as 
they  religiously  called  it,  the  "Zion."  Among  so 
large  a  number  of  men  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
there  were  some  who  were  Freemasons,  and  natur- 
ally they  conceived  the  idea  of  instituting  a  Lodge 
at  Nauvoo.  Accordingly,  they  applied  to  the 
Grand  Master  for  a  dispensation  to  form  and  work 
a  Lodge  to  be  called  Nauvoo  Lodge,  U.  D.  On  the 
loth  day  of  October,  1841,  a  petition  signed  by 
the  requisite  number  of  Master  Masons  at  Nauvoo 
was  sent  to  Grand  Master  A.  Jonas,  residing  at 
Quincy,  for  a  dispensation  to  form  a  lodge  at 
Nauvoo.  The  prayer  of  the  petition  was  granted, 
and  the  dispensation  was  duly  forwarded  to  the 
brethren.  They  went  to  work  during  the  winter 
following  and  did  a  wholesale  business.  Li  Octo- 
ber, 1842,  when  the  Grand  Lodge  met,  the  Commit- 
tee on  Lodges,  U.  D.,  reported  that  the  returns  of 
Nauvoo  Lodge  were  not  as  required,  but  it  was 
thought  best  to  continue  the  dispensation  for  an- 
other year.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
in  1843,  the  committee  found  many  complaints 
against  the  Lodge  at  Nauvoo.  As  no  returns  had 
been  sent  in,  the  Grand  Master  sent  a  committee  to 
Nauvoo  to  examine  into  the  work  and  doings  of  the 
Lodge.  Grand  Master  Meradith  Helm  wascr  officio 
chairman  of  the  committee,  and  went  to  Nauvcxj 
and  attempted  to  make  an  investigation,  but  both 
he  and  the  committee  were  treated  with  contempt 
by  the  Mormons  and  their  leaders.  Why  the 
Grand  Master  did  not  take  the  dispensation  away 
with  him  has  been  a  matter  of  comment  ever  since. 
When  the  Grand  Lodge  met  in  October,  1844,  it  ex- 
pelled all  the  members  of  Nauvoo  Lodge,  decla'red 
the  Lodge  irregular  and  clandestine,  and  annulled 
the  dispensation.  No  charter  was  ever  granted 
them.  Some  of  the  irregularities  were  in  voting 
on  eight  or  ten  candidates  at  one  ballot,  holding 
clandestine    meetings,    and    initiating    candidates 


who  were  notorious  outlaws  or  men  of  bail  ri'puto. 
After  expulsion  the  Nauvoo  Lodge  continued  to 
hold  clandestine  meetings  and  to  make  innovations 
to  conform  to  Mormon  teachings. 

When  the  Temple  was  mostly  finished  at  Nauvoo, 
the  Mormons  instituted  the  endowment  ceremonies 
and  incorporated  tlierein  some  of  tlie  ritual  of  Ma- 
.sonry.  To-day,  at  Salt  Lake  City,  they  still  prac- 
tise these  eeremoi\ies.  A  visitor  to  the  old  town 
of  Nauvoo  to-day  will  see  a  three-story  brick  build- 
ing standing  on  the  low  land  adjoining  the  sliores 
of  the  Mississippi  River.  It  is  a  quaint,  old-style 
building,  with  the  gable  end  to  the  east  and  a  rep- 
resentation of  the  All-Seeing  Eye  painted  on  the 
eastern  end.  The  foundation,  which  is  of  stone,  is 
graced  by  a  square-cut  stone,  aljout  three  feet  each 
way,  in  which  is  cut,  in  well-defined  letters,  the 
words,  "Grand  Master  A,  Helm,  1843."  It  is  at 
the  northeast  corner.  The  building,  which  was 
always  known  as  the  Masonic  Temple,  is  fast  falling 
into  ruins. 

The  witnesses  to  the  "Book  of  Mormon"  were 
three,  to-wit:  P.  P.  Pratt,  or  Parley  P.  Pratt,  an 
Englishman  by  birth,  and  one  of  the  twelve  ; 
Martin  Harris,  afterwards  an  apostate,  and  Oliver 
Cowdery,  also  one  of  the  twelve.  The  first  or 
original  twelve  apostles  of  the  Mormon  Church 
were:  Sidney  Rigden,  who  was  president  ;  Parley 
P.  Pratt,  Oliver  Cowdery,  Orson  Hyde,  John  Tay- 
lor, William  Richards,  Amasa  Lyman,  Daniel 
Wells,  Hyrum  Smith,  William  Smitli,  Brigham 
Young,  Orson  Pratt,  and  David  A.  Wyman.  After 
the  death  of  Joe  Smith  the  propiu't,  Brigham 
Young  succeeded  as  Chief  of  the  Twelve  Apostles, 
and  finally  to  the  head  of  the  Churcli  at  Salt  Lake 
City.  All  the  leaders  of  the  Mormon  Church  were 
Masons,  that  is,  according  to  their  own  peculiar 
views,  which,  of  course,  meant  under  the  control 
and  direction  of  the  Mormon  Church.  It  seems 
that  Masonry  was  not  to  flourisli  in  Nauvoo,  for 
when  another  Lodge  was  chartered  by  our  Grand 
Lodge,  in  1848,  founded  on  the  ruins  of  the 
Nauvoo  Lodge,  Reclamation,  No.  54,  althougli 
appearing  prosperous  at  first,  and  doing  a  fair 
amount  of  work,  yet  the  reputation  and  associations 
of  the  first  Nauvoo  Lodge  clung  to  it  ;  and  the 
writer  hereof,  in  the  year  1882.  being  then  Deputy 
Grand  Master  of  the  district,  was  ordered  by  the 
Grand  Master  to  take  up  its  charter  for  unmasonic 
conduct.  That  was  done,  and  tliere  has  been  no 
Masonic  Lodge  at  Nauvoo  since.  Tlie  Grand  Lodge 
of  Utah  of  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  never  would  admit 
Mormons  to  membership  in  any  of  the  Lodges  in  its 
territory. 

Kevelations  of  the  inuer  religious  cere- 
monial   life    of    the    Mormons,    jniblished 


72 


FREEMASONRY   AMONG   NEGROES 


years  ago,  stated  that  the  Mormon  leaders 
were  violently  anti-Mason  in  their  preach- 
ings and  teachings  prior  to  their  hegira  from 
New  York  State,  which  may  be  explained 
by  the  fact  that  the  sect  was  founded  not 
only  during  the  period  of  anti-Masonic 
excitement,  but  in  the  very  region  from 
Avhich  Morgan,  the  apostate  Freemason, 
disappeared.  When  the  Mormons  went 
West,  it  is  singular,  but  perhaps  not  signifi- 
cant, that  Morgan's  wife  (widow?)  went  with 
them;  and  in  an  interview  between  the  first 
wife  of  Orson  Pratt  and  Kate  Fields,  pub- 
lished in  the  St.  Louis  "  Globe  Democrat," 
December  4,  1892,  Mrs.  Pratt  tells  of  the 
presence  at  Nauvoo,  111.,  18-40-46,  of  the 
widow  of  Morgan,  where  she  had  married  a 
Mormon.  From  what  has  been  made  pub- 
lic concerning  Mormon  endowment  house 
ceremonies  by  such  apostate  Mormons  as 
Mrs.  Pratt,  and  others,  there  would  appear 
to  be  no  Freemasonry  in  them.  Those  who 
invented  them  drew  heavily  on  "Paradise 
Lost''  and  the  Old  Testament  for  a  ritual, 
and,  by  paralleling  certain  forms  and  situa- 
tions in  Craft  Masonry,  succeeded  in  con- 
structing what  proved  to  most  of  their 
followers  to  be  an  impressive,  if  not  in- 
spired, ceremonial. 

Freemasonry  among  Negroes.  — 
Among  more  than  1,300,000  affiliated  and 
unaffiliated  white  Freemasons  in  the  United 
States,  comparatively  few  have  familiarized 
themselves  with  the  details  of  the  history 
of  the  Fraternity,  and  to  such  it  will  j)rove 
in  the  nature  of  a  surprise  to  learn  that  there 
are  probably  60,000  negro  Freemasons  in 
the  country,  whose  Freemasonry  comes  from 
the  same  source  as  their  own,  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  England.  The  average  white 
Freemason  knows  there  are  so-called  negro 
Freemasons,  but  has  generally  regarded 
their  Freemasonry  as  a  spurious  variety, 
and  the  possessors,  at  best,  as  clandestine. 
As  to  the  first  inference  he  is  mistaken,  and 
as  to  the  second  he  might  substitute  the 
word  irregular.  Early  in  1775  Prince  Hall, 
an   educated  negro,  twenty-seven  years   of 


age,  was  made  a  Freemason  at  Boston,  in  an 
English  army  Lodge  connected  with  Gen- 
eral Gage's  command,  and  on  March  6th, 
the  same  year,  fourteen  other  Boston  negroes 
were  made  Freemasons  in  the  same  Lodge, 
at  Castle  William,  Boston  Harbor,  now  Fort 
Independence.  Each  is  declared  to  have 
paid  a  fee  of  twenty-five  guineas  for  the 
three  degrees.  The  motive  of  the  members 
of  the  army  Lodge  in  initiating,  passing, 
and  raising  these  fifteen  negroes  may  best 
be  conjectured.  If  it  was  to  secure  the 
cooperation  of  negroes  in  the  prospective 
struggle  with  the  colonists,  it  failed  so  far  as 
Prince  Hall  is  concerned;  for  the  latter  sided 
with  the  colonists,  shouldered  a  musket,  and 
remained  a  useful  and  prominent  citizen  of 
Massachusetts  until  his  death  in  1807. 

At  the  annual  session  of  the  (white) 
Grand  Lodge  of  Freemasons  of  Ohio,  in 
1875,  the  following  conclusions  were  re- 
l^orted  by  a  committee  of  eminent  members 
(among  them  Enoch  T.  Carson)  on  that 
portion  of  the  address  of  the  Grand  Master 
which  referred  to  ''colored  Masonry": 

Your  Committee  deem  it  sufficient  to  say  that  they 
are  satisfied  beyond  all  question  that  colored  Free- 
masonry had  a  legitimate  begimiing  in  this  coun- 
try, as  much  so  as  any  other  Freemasonry ;  in  fact, 
it  came  from  the  same  source. 

Your  Committee  have  the  most  satisfactory  and 
conclusive  evidence  that  these  colored  Freemasons 
practise  the  very  same  rites  and  ceremonies  and 
have  substantially  the  same  esoteric  or  secret  modes 
of  recognition  as  are  practised  by  ourselves  and  by 
the  universal  family  of  Freemasons  throughout  the 
world. 

Prince  Hall  and  his  brother  (negro)  Free- 
masons continued  to  meet  socially  and  other- 
Avise,  and  (as  declared  and  not  disproved)  as 
a  Lodge,  although  they  did  no  Masonic 
work,  until  some  time  between  1781  and 
1783,  when  they  applied  to  the  Massachu- 
setts Grand  Lodge  for  a  warrant.  The  re- 
quest was  refused.  Application  for  a  war- 
rant was  made  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Eng- 
land, March  7,  1784,  and  on  September  29, 
1784  (shortly  after  the  close  of  the  War  of 
the  Eevolution),  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Eng- 


FREEMASONRY  AMONG   NEGROES 


73 


land  issued  a  warrant  to  Prince  Hall  and  his 
fourteen  associates  at  Boston,  constituting 
African  Lodge,  No.  454,  of  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons.  But  it  was  not  until  1787 
that  the  fee  for  the  warrant  was  received 
in  England,  the  Avarrant  delivered,  and  tlie 
Lodge  name  entered  on  the  roll  of  Lodges 
holding  obedience  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England.  Tt  will  be  borne  in  mind  tli,at 
the  present  American  Masonic  doctrine  of 
exclusive  territorial  jurisdiction  was  not  rec- 
ognized abroad  at  that  time,  and  was  not 
being  enforced  here.  African  Lodge  con- 
tinued a  regular,  working  Lodge  of  the 
Cirand  Lodge  of  England  as  late  as  ]797, 
making  anuual  or  other  returns,  with  con- 
tributions to  the  charity  fund  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  England,  as  required  by  its  war- 
rant. That  it  was  really  active  is  shown 
by  its  establishing  a  Lodge  at  Philadelphia 
in  1797,  and  one  at  Providence,  concerning 
Avhicli  the  late  Albert  Pike  wrote,  September 
13,  1875,  to  the  Grand  Secretary  of  the 
(white)  Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio: 

Prince  Hall  Lodge  was  as  regular  a  Lodge  as  any 
Lodge  created  by  a  competent  aulhoilty,  and  had  a 
perfect  right  (as  other  Lodges  in  Eiu'opc  did)  to  es- 
tablish other  Lodges,  making  itself  a  mother  Lodge. 
That's  the  way  tlie  Berlin  Lodges,  Three  Globes  and 
Itoyal  York  became  Grand  Lodges. 

As  to  the  question  of  the  strict  Masonic 
legality  of  all  that  African  Lodge  and  some 
of  its  successors  did,  T.  S.  Parvin,  Grand 
Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa  wrote 
to  the  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Ohio : 

The  negroes  can  make  as  good  a  show  for  the 
legality  of  their  Grand  Lodges  as  the  whites  can. 
It's  only  a  matter  of  taste,  not  laws.  I  am  satisfied 
that  all  the  world  outside  the  United  States  will, 
ere  long,  recognize  them. 

Upon  the  union  of  the  Grand  Lodges  of 
England,  in  1813,  African  Lodge  was  re- 
moved from  the  list,  and  has  iicver  been 
recognized  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England 
since.  African  Lodge,  however,  must  have 
ignored  this  treatment,  for  its  records  are 
declared  to  show  that  eighty  candidates  were 


initiated  between  1807  and  1826.  In  1808 
delegates  from  the  negro  Lodges  at  Boston, 
Providence,  and  Philadelphia  met  at  Bos- 
ton and  formed  African  (frequently  called 
"  Prince  Hall  ")  (J rand  Lodge  (referred  to 
by  Pike  in  a  preceding  quotation),  which 
body  is  the  source  of  all  .Masonic  authority 
among  negro  Freemasons  in  the  United 
States  to-day.  In  1827  African  Lodge  de- 
clared itself  indepemlent  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  England.  In  1847  there  were 
three  negro  (J rand  Lodges:  one  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  two  in  Pennsylvania,  delegates 
from  which  met  at  Boston  that  year  and  or- 
ganized the  "  National  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
United  States  of  North  America,"  to  be 
the  Supreme  Masonic  power  in  the  United 
States.  Grand  Lodges  were  formed  in  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  and  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia  in  1848,  in  Ohio  and 
Delaware  in  1849,  in  Indiana,  Ehodc  Island, 
and  the  Province  of  Ontario  in  1850,  in 
Louisiana  in  1863,  and  Liberia  in  1867. 
Louisiana  refused  allegiance  to  the  National 
Grand  Lodge,  and  three  years  later  Ohio 
Avithdrew  from  it,  followed  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  By 
1880  all  the  Grand  Lodges  except  Missis- 
sippi had  withdrawn,  and  not  long  after  the 
National  Grand  Lodge  practically  ceased  to 
exist.  In  1890  there  were  Sovereign  Grand 
Lodges  of  Free  and  Accepted  negro  Ma- 
sons in  thirty-two  States,  and  one  each  in 
the  District  of  Columbia,  the  Province  of 
Ontario,  and  in  Liberia. 

S.  R.  Scottron,  Brooklyn,  writes,  July  27, 
1897,  that  the  National  (irand  Lodge  "  still 
exists,"  with  subordinate  Lodges  '*in  sev- 
eral States,"  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  this 
is  anything  more  than  an  attempt  of  former 
officials  to  revive  it.  One  of  the  best  known 
negroes  formerly  connected  with  the  Na- 
tional Grand  Lodge  is  Richard  Gleaves, 
of  Washington,  D.  C,  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  South  Carolina  during  the  reconstruc- 
tion period,  and  National  Grand  blaster  of 
negro  Freemasons  for  many  years.  The 
"negro   question"   in    American   Masonic 


74 


FREEMASONRY  AMONG  NEGROES 


Grand  Lodges  has  naturally  been  promi- 
nent during  the  latter  half  of  the  century. 
In  New  Jersey  it  took  a  crucial  form  when 
Alpha  Lodge,  No.  16,  at  Newark,  made  a 
number  of  negroes  Freemasons.  The  re- 
sult, for  a  time,  was  no  inconsiderable  dis- 
satisfaction among  the  Craft,  but  the  Lodge 
continues  to  this  day  on  the  roll  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  Jersey,  the  only  in- 
stance in  the  United  States  of  a  regular 
Masonic  Lodge  of  negroes  attached  to  a 
white  Grand  Lodge.  In  1875  the  white 
Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio  became  interested 
in  the  subject  of  the  universality  of  Free- 
masonry, and  an  eifort  was  made  to  recog- 
nize the  negro  Grand  Lodge  of  that  State. 
The  matter  was  referred  to  a  committee, 
and  a  report  was  made  in  favor  of  the 
project.  When  it  came  to  voting  on  the 
adoption  of  the  report,  a  point  of  order  was 
raised,  which  the  Grand  Master  decided  not 
well  taken.  On  appeal,  the  Grand  Master's 
decision  was  reversed  by  a  vote  of  390  to  332, 
and  so  the  whole  matter  came  to  naught. 
E.  B.  Irving,  Grand  Master  of  "the  Most 
"Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Most  -An- 
cient and  Honorable  Fraternity  of  Free  and 
Accepted  (negro)  Masons,  State  of  New 
York,"  writes  from  Albany,  March  16, 
1896,  that  "the  Prince  Hall  Grand  Lodge 
of  Massachusetts,  from  which  all  negro 
Grand  Lodges  obtain  their  authority,  is  in 
fraternal  relations  with  white  Grand  Lodges 
in  Germany  and  Hungary,"  and  that  "in 
foreign  countries  colored  Masons  are  received 
and  accorded  all  the  rights  of  a  brother  in 
Masonic  Lodges,  although  (even  though  ?) 
he  may  hail  from  the  United  States,"  and 
that  he  has  "yet  to  learn  of  one  who  has 
been  refused."  S.  W.  Clark,  Grand  Mas- 
ter of  (negro)  Free  Masons  in  Ohio  in  1886, 
whose  pamphlet,  "The  Negro  Mason  in 
Equity,"  is  well  worth  careful  reading,  adds 
that  in  France,  Italy,  Germany,  Hungary, 
Peru,  and  Dominica  "our  representatives" 
are  "received,  and  accredited  as  such." 
Mr.  Clark  makes  an  able  plea  for  the  recog- 
nition of  the  regularity  of  negro  Masonic 


Lodges  in  America,  and,  while  he  seems  to 
have  demolished  those  of  his  adversaries 
who  rely  upon  the  American  Masonic  doc- 
trine of  "  exclusive  territorial  jurisdiction," 
he  appears  to  rely  too  much  upon  proving 
irregularity  on  the  part  of  early  white  Grand 
bodies,  to  excuse  the  irregularity  of  like 
negro  organizations,  overlooking  the  fact 
that  the  irregularity  of  the  former  was 
subsequently  healed.  His  argument  is,  of 
course,  that  the  faults  of  the  early  grand  and 
subordinate  negro  bodies  could  be  healed  by 
competent  Masonic  authority  with  quite  as 
much  propriety;  the  only  reply  to  which  is 
that  it  has  not  been  done.  Yet,  when  all 
else  is  said,  the  quoted  comment  by  the  late 
Albert  Pike  cannot  be  ignored,  that  the  first 
African  Grand  Lodge,  formed  by  represent- 
atives of  three  subordinate  Lodges,  two  of 
which  Lodges  were  created  by  the  first,  was 
no  more  irregular  than  were  the  Berlin 
Grand  bodies,  the  Three  Globes,  and  the 
Royal  York,  which  were  formed  in  a  similar 
manner. 

In  1898  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State 
of  Washington  took  an  advanced  view  of 
this  subject,  going  so  far  as  to  suggest  the 
propriety  of  the  recognition  of  the  legiti- 
macy of  colored  Freemasons,  the  origin  of 
the  charters  of  whose  Lodges  is  found,  of 
course,  in  the  charter  granted  to  African 
Lodge  of  Boston  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England,  in  the  last  century.  As  a  conse- 
quence the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky  has 
adopted  a  resolution  declaring  non-inter- 
course with  Washington  ;  the  Grand  Lodges 
of  Arkansas,  New  Jersey,  and  South  Caro- 
lina have  also  severed  relations  with  Wash- 
ingbon,  and  the  Grand  Master  of  New  York 
has  requested  the  Grand  Eepresentative 
of  Washington  to  resign  his  commission. 
Maryland  and  Rhode  Island  contented  them- 
selves by  expressing  the  hope  that  Wash- 
ington will  reconsider  its  action. 

There  are,  therefore,  two  streams  of  Free- 
masonry coursing  through  the  United 
States.  Each  started  from  the  same  source 
and  both  are  running  in  the  same  direction.- 


FREEMASONRY   AMONG    NECJROES 


75 


One  forms  a  mighty  torrent,  while  the  other 
is  only  a  brook.  But  their  routes  to  the 
great  sea  of  universal  brotherhood  are  paral- 
lel, divided  only  by  the  embankment  of  con- 
ditions and  race  prejudice. 

Negro  Freemasons  in  America  have  flat- 
tered white  possessors  of  various  jMasonic 
rites  and  ceremonials  by  imitating  or  paral- 
leling all  of  them.  Thus  we  find  among 
the  negroes  symbolic  Lodges,  Koyal  Arch 
Chapters,  and  Commanderies  of  Knights 
Templars,  corresponding  to  the  American 
system,  as  well  as  five  or  more  so-called  Su- 
preme Councils  of  a  "thirty-third  degree 
Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Eite,"  each 
claiming  exclusive  jurisdiction  and  the  ab- 
solute lack  of  authority  on  the  part  of  rival 
Supreme  Councils. 

The  Most  Puissant  Sovereign  Grand  Com- 
mander of  the  Philadelphia  Negro  Supreme 
Council,  George  W.  Koper,  wrote  John  H. 
Deyo,  Grand  Master  of  negro  Freemasons 
in  New  York,  in  1895,  that  the  first  negro 
Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  was  organ- 
ized at  Philadelphia  in  1819  or  1830,  by  the 
aid  of  the  white  Koyal  Arch  Chapter  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  that  the  first 
negro  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  was  formed 
in  Pennsylvania  in  or  about  1826.  Little 
more  was  done  in  this  direction  until  long 
after  the  anti-Masonic  agitation  died  out 
(1836),  and  it  was  not  until  1879,  according 
to  Macoy,  that  a  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter 
was  organized  in  New  York.  Statistics  re- 
garding '■  Chapter  Masonry  "among  negroes 
are  difficult  to  obtain,  but  from  inquiry 
among  a  number  of  those  best  informed  it 
seems  probable  that  negro  Royal  Arch  Chap- 
ters number  more  than  5,000  members. 
The  statement  is  also  made  that  the  first 
Commandery  of  negro  Knights  Templars 
was  formed  at  Philadelphia  (some  time,  but 
not  long  after  the  first  Royal  Arch  Cha])- 
ter)  by  the  white  Grand  Encampment  of 
Knights  Templars  of  Pennsylvania  (1816- 
25).  Whether  it  was  the  Grand  Chajiter 
and  the  Grand  Encampment  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, or  merely  white  Royal  Arch  Masons 


and  Knights  Templars  who  were  responsi- 
ble for  these  acts  may  never  be  known.  In 
fact,  this  explanation  of  the  origin  of 
Capitular  and  Templar  Freemasonry  among 
negroes  seems  to  rest  on  the  declarations  of 
the  men  named.  Negro  Knights  Templars 
were  not  known  out  of  Pennsylvania  for 
many  years,  when  they  appeared  in  Balti- 
more and  Washington.  The  first  negro  En- 
campment in  New  York  was  organized,  ac- 
cording to  Macoy,  as  late  as  1872,  and  the 
Grand  Encampment  there  in  1875.  The 
writer  is  informed  by  those  who  should 
know  that  there  were  nineteen  negro 
Grand  Encampments  in  the  L'nited  States 
in  1895,  with  nearly  3,000  Sir  Knights. 

African  Supreme  Council,  "  Ancient,  Ac- 
cepted Scottish  Rite  for  the  American 
Continent,"  is  declared  to  have  been  estab- 
lished at  Philadelphia  in  1820  by  authority 
of  the  Grand  Orient  of  France,  whicli  body, 
Masonic  students  will  recall,  did  not,  and 
does  not,  authorize  the  working  of  degrees 
of  that  rite.  It  is  of  interest  to  note,  how- 
ever, that  while  negro  Royal  Arch  Masons 
and  Knights  Templars  claim  that  the  first 
negro  Chapter  and  Encampment  were 
formed  at  Philadelphia  by  members  of  the 
Pennsylvania  white  Grand  Chapter  and 
Grand  Encampment,  respectively,  their  tra- 
ditions as  to  the  founding  of  the  first  negro 
Supreme  Council  (Scottish  Rite)  attribute 
it  to  a  foreign  supreme  body — strangely 
enough,  to  the  one  of  the  two  French  Ma- 
sonic supreme  bodies  which,  in  1820,  recog- 
nized only  the  French  Rite  of  seven  degrees. 
African  Supreme  Council  is  not  known  to 
have  done  much  more  than  to  exist  on  paper 
until  1850,  when  it  was  succeeded  by  the  so- 
called  David  Leary  Supreme  Council.  The 
latter  did  not  exhibit  much  activity  until 
after  the  Civil  War,  and  when  questioned  as 
to  tbe  warrant  for  its  authority,  presented  a 
document  purporting  to  have  been  issued 
by  the  (Jrand  Orient  of  France,  in  1850,  to 
David  Leary  of  Philadelphia,  through  its 
Deputy,  one  Larine,  and  signed  by  certain 
persons  as  officers.    On  comparing  the  names 


76 


FREEMASONRY  AMONG  NEGROES 


with  those  laid  down  in  the  aunual  calen- 
dars of  the  Grand  Orient  and  in  its  bulle- 
tins, it  was  found  that  no  such  men  had 
held  office  at  that  or  any  other  time,  nor  did 
the  name  of  Larine  appear  in  its  tableau  of 
membership,  nor  was  the  seal  appended 
thereto  the  seal  of  the  Grand  Orient.  T^liis 
warrant,  when  examined  by  representatives 
of  a  rival  negro  Supreme  Council,  was  found 
to  be  sealed  with  the  letters  "A.  Y.  M." 
and  ''  a  Good  Templar's  Seal."  It  may  be 
well  to  explain  that  the  Scottish  Rite  de- 
grees in  France  are  conferred  exclusively 
by  the  authority  of  the  Supreme  Council,  a 
body  having  no  connection  with  the  Grand 
Orient.  The  latter,  although  j)ossessing 
these  degrees,  discountenances  their  use,  as 
it  does  the  rites  of  Misraim,  Memphis,  and 
other  products  of  Masonic  degree-makers  of 
the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries. 

An  outgrowth  of  the  revival  of  this  so- 
called  Scottish  Rite  Freemasonry  at  Philadel- 
phia was  the  formation  of  a  rival  known  as 
King  David  Supreme  Council.  It  claimed 
direct  descent  from  African  Supreme  Coun- 
cil, which  died  in  1850.  There  was  also 
a  King  Frederick  Supreme  Council  there, 
twenty  years  ago,  established  by  the  founder 
of  the  Baltimore  Supreme  Council,  who 
claimed  to  have  authority  for  that  purpose 
from  the  negro  Supreme  Council  for  the 
United  States,  its  Territories  and  Dependen- 
cies, established  at  New  York  city  in  1864  by 
Baron  Auguste  Hugo  de  Bulow,  a  member 
of  the  Supreme  Council  of  France.  As  that 
New  York  Supreme  Council  repudiated  the 
placing  of  Supreme  Councils  at  Baltimore 
and  at  Philadelphia,  little  remains  to  be  said 
in  reference  to  them.  So  far  as  learned,  the 
only  existing  negro  Supreme  Councils  are 
the  David  Leary  of  Philadelphia,  with  which 
the  King  Frederick  Supreme  Council  united 
in  1881  under  the  title  S.  C,  etc..  Northern 
Jurisdiction,  U.  S.  A.;  that  referred  to  at 
New  York  city;  the  "  Supreme  Council  for 
the  Southern  Jurisdiction  of  the  TJ.  S.  A.," 
with  headquarters  at  Washington,  Thornton 
A.  Jackson,  M.  P.  S.  G.  C,  which  bases  its 


authority  on  "a  charter  for  a  Council  of 
Princes  of  Jerusalem,  purporting  to  have 
been  issued  by  the  African  Council,"  Phila- 
delphia, and  is  in  affiliation  with  the  Phila- 
delphia consolidated  (Northern)  Supreme 
Council,  and  the  "  Supreme  Council  for  the 
Northwestern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,"  with  its  "Grand  East"  at  St. 
Louis,  an  organization  of  schismatic  origin. 
The  Washington  Supreme  Council  (South- 
ern Jurisdiction)  was  formed  in  1869,  and 
soon  became  dormant,  but  was  revived  in 
1879.  There  are,  therefore,  four  negro  Su- 
preme Councils  professing  to  confer  Scottish 
Rite  degrees  in  the  United  States.  They 
are  spasmodically  active,  usually  dormant, 
exhibitions  of  life,  being  usually  confined  to 
a  gathering  of  officers  to  reelect  each  other, 
or  to  make  a  few  "thirty-seconds"  and 
"thirty-thirds."  The  St.  Louis  Supreme 
Council,  which  claims  Northwestern  Juris- 
diction, has  about  150  members,  but  noth- 
ing in  the  nature  of  what,  by  even  a  stretch 
of  courtesy,  conld  be  called  authority  for 
existence.  The  Washington  Supreme  Coun- 
cil's existence  rests,  it  is  declared,  on  a  char- 
ter for  a  Council  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem 
(a  subordinate  Scottish  Rite  body),  granted 
by  African  Supreme  Council  years  before 
the  Washington  organization  appeared.  Its 
own  claim  to  a  warrant  from  the  Grand 
Orient  of  France  refers,  probably,  to  the  bare 
allegation  that  the  African  Supreme  Coun- 
cil was  chartered  by  the  Grand  Orient,  a 
statement  which  is  its  own  refutation.  The 
spurious  character  of  the  warrant  of  the 
Philadelphia  Supreme  Council  has  been  re- 
ferred to.  This  leaves  only  the  New  York 
Supreme  Council  to  deal  with — that  of 
Avhich  Peter  W.  Ray,  M.D.,  and  S.  R.  Scot- 
tron  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  are  leaders.  The 
Baron  de  Bulow,  33°,  a  member  of  the 
Supreme  Council  of  France,  came  to  New 
York  in  1862,  accredited  as  a  Representa- 
tive to  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  United 
States,  Northern  Jurisdiction  (white) — as 
related  by  negro  Freemasons,  members  of 
the  negro  Supreme  Council  of  New  York, 


FREEMASONRY  AMONG   NEGROES 


77 


and,  as  also  admitted,  he  returned  to  France 
accredited  b}-  the  (white)  Supreme  Council 
named,  as  Representative  to  the  Supreme 
Council  of  France — the  body  controlling 
Scottish  Eite  grades  or  degrees  in  France. 
On  a  second  visit  to  this  country,  in  18G4, 
the  Baron,  finding  no  Scottish  Kite  Masonry 
among  negro  Freemasons  here,  declared  the 
(that  ?)  territory  vacant,  and  by  his  claimed 
prerogative,  as  Sovereign  Grand  Inspector 
General  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  France, 
he  organized  a  Supreme  Council  of  negroes 
who  had  been  created  thirty-third  degree 
Freemasons  by  himself  for  that  purpose. 
The  first  to  receive  the  degree  was  Patrick 
H.  Reason,  then  Most  Worshipful  Grand 
Master  of  the  negro  Grand  Lodge  of  Free- 
masons of  the  State  of  New  York.  De 
Bulow  never  returned  to  France,  but  re- 
mained until  his  death,  in  the  endeavor  to 
firmly  establish  Scottish  Rite  Freemasonry 
among  colored  men.  In  vieAV  of  the  Baron's 
action,  it  is  proper  to  jioint  out  that  by 
the  law  of  all  recognized  Supreme  Coun- 
cils of  the  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Rite 
(of  which  the  Sujoreme  Council  of  France  is 
one),  no  Inspector  General  is  permitted  to 
establish  a  Supreme  Council  of  the  rite  in 
any  country  where  such  a  body  already  ex- 
ists, except  by  special  patent  issued  for  the 
2)urpose.  The  question,  then,  is,  did  De 
Bulow  know  of  the  existence  of  a  Supreme 
Council  in  the  United  States  at  the  time  he 
took  this  step — one  recognized  by  the  Su- 
preme Council  of  France  ?  The  answer  is, 
of  course,  that  as  he  had  visited  such  a 
Council  here — that  for  the  Northern  Juris- 
diction— and  had  beeii  appointed  by  it  a 
Representative  to  the  Supreme  Council  of 
France;  one,  therefore,  did  exist,  and  un- 
less he  had  a  special  patent  from  France 
empowering  him  to  do  what  he  did  in  18G4 
— which  he  never  had  or  claimed  to  have — 
his  action  in  establishing  a  negro  Supreme 
Council  was,  Masonically,  illegal  and  void. 
De  Bulow  was  evidently  a  visionary,  un- 
doubtedly a  philanthropist,  and  on  what  he 
conceived  to  be  the  ethics  of  a  situation,  a 


law  unto  himself.  He  showed  his  sincerity 
in  what  he  did  by  creating  his  son  and  ten 
negroes  "thirty-third  degree  Masons,"  who 
with  himself — nine  black  and  two  white 
men — were  the  original  members  of  the 
negro  Sujireme  Council  "for  the  United 
States,  its  Territories  and  Dependencies." 

All  the  negro  Supreme  Councils  men- 
tioned are,  for  reasons  given,  irregular; 
some  of  them  spurious,  and  none  of  tliem 
has  ever  been  accorded  recognition  by  any 
regular  Supreme  Council  in  the  world. 
Their  total  membership  is  about  1,000, 
of  which  about  600  belong  to  the  Philadel- 
phia and  Washington  bodies,  and  250 
to  the  New  York  Supreme  Council.  An 
effort  was  made,  in  1881,  to  unite  the 
negro  Supreme  Councils,  but,  with  the 
exception  noted,  it  failed,  and  the  strife 
for  office,  for  decorations,  and  for  recog- 
nition of  the  regularity  of  one  over  another 
is  likely  to  keep  them  apart. 

Little  remains  to  be  added  in  a  brief 
historical  sketch  of  Freemasonry  among 
negroes,  except  that  a  schismatic  Scot- 
tish Rite  body  existed  for  a  brief  period 
at  New  York,  a  few  years  ago,  known 
as  the  "Joe  Smith  "  Supreme  Council,  and 
that  nearly  twenty-five  years  ago  one  Robert 
Cowes  (negro)  claimed  to  have  received  the 
ritual  of  the  Rite  of  Memphis  from  the 
Grand  Orient  of  France  for  propagation 
among  negroes  in  the  LTnited  States.  It  is 
not  known  that  he  ever  received  authority 
to  do  that.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  good 
reason  to  believe  that  the  Grand  Orient  of 
France  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  (See  Free- 
masonry, Rite  of  Memphis.)  In  any  event 
no  bodies  of  that  rite  exist  here.  About 
twenty  years  ago  there  was  a  negro  Supreme 
Council  established  at  Baltimore  (not  the 
one  already  referred  to)  by  Charles  P.  Daly 
of  Ocala,  Fla.,  who  claimed  authority  from 
some  body  in  the  British  West  Indies.  The 
first  negro  Su])reme  Council  at  Baltimore  was 
established  by  Lemuel  G.  Griffin,  as  stated, 
an  Inspector  General  of  the  New  York  Su- 
preme  Council,   who   afterward    organized 


78 


FREEMASONRY :    RITE    OF   MEMPHIS,  ANCIENT   AND   PRIMITIVE 


King  Frederick  Supreme  Council  at  Phila- 
delphia. Nothing  is  known  of  these  organi- 
zations to-day. 

Freemasonry  :  Rite  of  Memphis,  An- 
cient and  Primitive. — No  account  of  this 
Masonic  rite  would  be  complete  which  ig- 
nored its  parent,  the  Rite  of  Misraim.  The 
latter  was  founded  at  j\rilan  in  1805.  Prom- 
inent among  its  members  were  Lechangeur, 
Joly,  and  Bedarride.  Lechangeur,  on  being 
refused  admission  into  the  Supreme  Council 
of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite, 
compiled  and  organized  the  Rite  of  Misraim 
in  opposition  to  the  former.  It  consisted 
of  eighty-seven  degrees  at  first,  later  of 
ninety  degrees,  which  included  nearly  all 
the  numerous  Scottish  Rite  degrees  in  ex- 
istence— degrees  borrowed  from  other  rites, 
from  floating  material,  or  invented  for  the 
purpose.  It  was  introduced  into  France  in 
1814,  where  recognition  was  refused  it  by 
the  Grand  Orient.  In  1817  the  Supreme 
Council  of  the  Rite  of  Misraim  was  dis- 
solved, but  Lodges  continued  to  exist,  and 
finally,  in  1822,  the  Rite  became  dormant, 
although  it  has  been  practised  by  a  few  Eu- 
ropean Lodges  at  intervals  almost  ever  since. 
The  ninety  degrees  were  conferred  (most 
of  them,  probably,  communicated)  in  four 
series  and  seventeen  classes;  the  first  being 
entitled  Symbolic,  the  second  Philosophic, 
the  third  Mystical,  and  the  fourth  Kabbalis- 
tic.  This  Rite  claimed  the  privilege  of  con- 
trolling all  other  Masonic  rites,  which,  aside 
from  its  being  very  complicated,  was  enough 
to  condemn  it.  Some  of  its  degrees  were 
based  on  the  ancient  Egyptian  mysteries, 
hence  Misraim,  an  ancient  name  for  Egypt. 
It  differs  from  ail  other  Masonic  rites  in 
that  it  abolished  the  legend  of  the  third  de- 
gree, and  introduced  the  story  of  the  death 
of  a  son  of  Lamech,  who  was  killed  by  three 
ruffians.  An  attempt  to  revive  the  rite  in 
France  in  1856  failed,  and  Gould,  in  his 
"  History  of  Freemasonry,"  says  that  for 
several  years  after  its  few  Lodges  continued 
a  precarious  existence.  A  ponderous  ac- 
count of  the  Rite  was  published  by  Mark 


Bedarride  in  1835,  entitled  "  The  Order  of 
Misraim." 

Jacques  Etienne  Marconis  was  initiated 
into  the  Rite  of  Misraim  in  April,  1833,  and 
expelled  therefrom  in  June  following.  In 
1839,  in  association  with  Moullet  and  others, 
he  founded  the  Rite  of  Memphis  at  Paris, 
and  soon  after  established  Lodges  at  Mar- 
seilles and  Brussels.  It  consisted  of  ninety- 
one  degrees,  later  of  ninety-two  degrees,  and 
afterward  of  ninety-six  degrees,  with  a 
ninety-seventli  degree  for  the  official  head 
of  the  Rite.  It  should  require  little  special 
information  to  properly  infer  that  this  rite 
was  based  on  that  of  Misraim.  It  appro- 
priated bodily  degrees  of  the  Ancient  and 
Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  those  peculiar  to  the 
Rite  of  Misraim,  and  supplemented  them 
with  inventions.  Gould  states  that  Mar- 
conis, who  had  been  expelled  in  1833,  estab- 
lished a  Lodge  of  the  Rite  of  Misraim  in 
1836,  and  in  1838  was  again  expelled.  Then 
he  fabricated  the  Rite  of  Memphis,  the  first 
Lodge  of  which  was  formed  at  Paris  in  1838. 
In  1840  the  Paris  Lodges  of  the  Rite  were 
closed  by  the  police,  but  were  revived  in 
1849.  The  Rite  was  unrecognized  by  the 
Grand  Orient  of  France  during  all  that 
period,  and,  therefore,  was  irregular.  Late 
in  the  fifties  it  became  dormant.  Mackey 
states  that  in  1862  Marconis  applied  to  the 
Grand  Orienr  of  France  for  recognition  for 
the  Rite  of  Memphis,  and  got  it  by  divest- 
ing himself  of  all  authority  over  it  and  plac- 
ing it  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Grand 
Orient,  which  absorbed  and  shelved  it, 
where,  so  far  as  the  Grand  Orient  is  con- 
cerned, it  remains  to-day.  As  this  rite  util- 
ized the  third  degree  of  Craft  Masonry,  sev- 
eral of  its  Lodges  were  revived  after  1862, 
but  worked  only  the  symbolic  degrees. 

In  1873  one  Carence,  with  Marconis,  con- 
ferred the  Rose  Croix  (Memphis)  degree  on 
several  Freemasons  who  were  officially  in- 
formed that  no  power  or  authority  permitted 
such  an  act,  as  Marconis  had  divested  him- 
self of  all  claim  to  the  rite  in  May,  1862, 
and  again,  formally,  in  1863,  1864, 1865,  and 


FREEMASONRY:   RITE   OF  MEMPHIS,  ANCIENT   AND   PRIMITIVE 


79 


18G6.  In  reply  to  an  inquiry  from  tlie  Su- 
preme Council  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite  of  England,  in  1872,  the  Grand 
Secretary  of  the  Grand  Orient  of  France  ex- 
plained the  foregoing,  and  stated  that  at  the 
time  the  treaty  was  negotiated  with  Mar- 
conis,  18G2,  II.  J.  Seymour  of  New  York 
city  was  at  Paris;  but  that  he,  the  latter, 
received  no  power  to  confer  degrees  of  the 
Rite  of  Memphis,  although,  owing  to  the 
bad  faith  of  ^larconis,  the  latter  pretended 
he  had  ceded  the  rite  to  the  Grand  Orient 
for  France  alone.  Seymour  assumed  the 
title  of  Grand  Master  of  the  Rite  of  Mem- 
phis for  America,  and  founded  a  Sovereign 
Sanctuary  in  New  York,  Avhich,  strangely 
enough,  in  18G7  appeared  on  the  Calendar 
of  the  Grand  Orient  of  France  for  that  year. 
The  Grand  Secretary  of  the  latter  body  adds 
that  after  learning  Seymour  was  conferring 
more  than  the  three  symbolic  degrees,  the 
Grand  Orient "'  broke  off  all  connection  with 
this  power  and  personally  with  Brother  Sey- 
mour," who  never  had  ''either  a  char- 
ter or  power  from  the  Grand  Orient  of 
France." 

On  the  other  hand,  Gould  says  that  in 
1850  and  1854  a  Chapter  and  a  Council  of 
the  Rite  of  Memphis  had  been  established 
in  New  York  city,  and  that  in  1860  Mar- 
conis  went  to  America  and  established  a 
Grand  Lodge  of  "  Discij^les  of  Memphis" 
at  Troy.  In  1857  the  rite  was  known  in 
New  York,  and  in  18G2  a  Sovereign  Sanc- 
tuary v.as  chartered.  It  was  taken  from 
America  to  England  in  1872,  where  the 
number  of  degrees  was  reduced  from  ninety- 
five  tp  thirty-three.  The  same  authority 
explains  that  in  1862  Marconis,  in  response 
to  a  circular  sent  out  by  the  Grand  Orient 
of  France,  demanded  recognition  for  "'one 
of  his  dormant  French  Lodges,"  which  was 
granted;  that  his  symbolic  Lodges  then  be- 
came a  part  of  the  Grand  Orient,  and  his 
Avhole  system  was  supposed  to  have  come 
under  the  supervision  of  that  Grand  body. 
According  to  this,  the  rite  had  been  estab- 
lished in  the  United  States  before  ^larconis 


ceded  anything  to  the  Grand  Orient  of 
France.  Robert  Morris,  in  the  "  Freema- 
sons' Almanac,"  January  1,  18G5,  says  that 
the  Rite  of  Memphis  has  a  beautiful  and  im- 
pressive ritual;  that  it  was  introduced  here 
November  9,  185G,  by  Marconis,  who  estab- 
lished a  Supreme  Council,  ninety  degrees, 
Avith  John  Mitchel  at  its  head,  and  a  Sover- 
eign Grand  Council,  ninety-four  degrees, 
with  David  McLellan  as  Grand  blaster. 
But  for  some  reason  the  system  did  not 
flourish,  not  even  after  Seymour  was  in- 
vested with  the  highest  degree  in  Paris  in 
1862,  and  Avith  authority  to  establish  a  Sov- 
ereign Grand  Sanctuary  of  Conservators 
General  of  the  Order  in  America.  A  Sov- 
ereign Council  General  was  established  in 
New  England,  but  that  and  the  various 
State  organizations  made  slow  headway,  and 
had  only  a  few  hundred  working  members. 
Seymour,  who  had  a  pyrotechnical,  but  un- 
enviable, career  in  several  Masonic  rites,  is 
declared  by  members  of  a  so-called  Scottish 
Rite  among  negroes  in  the  United  States 
to  have  received  the  ritual  of  the  Rite  of 
Memphis  from  Robert  Cowes,  a  negro,  to 
whom  it  was  committed  by  the  proper  au- 
thorities for  propagation  among  his  race, 
and  to  have  used  it  for  his  (Seymour's) 
benefit.  This  is  probably  an  error,  due  to 
Marconis's  having  been  nicknamed  "  De 
Negre,"  owing  to  his  dark  complexion. 
H.  C.  Goodale  of  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  for  sev- 
eral years  the  chief  secretarial  ofticer  of  the 
Rite  of  Memphis  in  America,  adds  that  Sey- 
mour did  not  condense  the  Rite  of  Memphis 
to  form  his  Cerneau  Rite.  Mr.  Goodale 
wrote,  in  1895,  that  the  Rite  of  Memphis 
still  existed,  but  that  it  was  "  very  inac- 
tive," practically  dormant,  "waiting  for 
better  times."  In  addition  to  the  Sover- 
eign Sanctuary  established  in  1862,  there 
had  been  formed  six  Mystic  Temples,  twelve 
Councils,  S.  M.  G.  W.,  twenty-three  Sen- 
ates of  n.  P..  and  forty-one  Chapters  of 
R.  C,  with  a  membership  in  1895,  which, 
while  not  large,  was  scattered  through  many 
States.     The  roll  of  Grand  Conservators  was 


80 


FREEMASONRY:   KNIGHTS   OF   ROME   AND    RED   CROSS   OF   CONSTANTINE 


declared  to  include  "  many  Past  Grand  Mas- 
ters and  high  dignitaries  in  Masonry." 
The  official  organ  of  the  Rite,  ''  The  Lybic 
Chain/'  was  published  at  New  York  in 
1883,  and  continued  to  appear  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  S.  C.  Gould,  Manchester, 
N.  H.,  states  that  a  body  was  organized  at 
TJtica,  N".Y.,  in  1880,  under  the  title,  "  The 
Antient  and  Primitive  Oriental  Rite  of  Mis- 
raim,"  but  Goodale  says  the  Rite  of  Misraim 
was  represented  at  l^^ew  York  city  in  1895 
by  about  twenty-five  members  of  the  Rite 
of  Memphis,  who  "thought  of  obtaining 
a  charter  and  continuing  the  work."  Evi- 
dently .the  ''  Oriental  Rite  "  of  Misraim  was 
something  else. 

There  was  also  an  Egyptian  Masonic  Rite 
of  Memphis  for  the  Cosmos  in  Boston,  in 
1881,  which  was  not  long-lived,  and  there 
a,re  records  of  an  Antient  and  Primitive 
(Spanish)  Oriental  Rite  of  "Memphis  and 
Misraim  "  at  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and 
Chicago  in  recent  years,  which  had  no  con- 
nection with  the  Ancient  and  Primitive 
Rite  of  Memphis  established  here  by  ]\Iar- 
conis.  Sovereign  Sanctuaries  of  the  origi- 
nal Rite  of  Memphis  have  been  established 
in  America  (now  dead).  Great  Britain  (at 
"Withiugham,  Manchester,  address  .John 
Yarker,  editor  of  the  official  organ,  "The 
Knepli "),  Italy,  Roumania,  Egypt,  and  (it 
is  said)  in  India. 

Spanish  and  Roumanian  branches  have 
been  a  source  of  trouble  to  American  Free- 
masons, by  granting  permission  to  irrespon- 
sible or  other  persons  to  propagate  the  so- 
called  Oriental  Rite  of  "  Memphis  and  Mis- 
raim "  in  the  United  States,  a  hodge-podge 
of  those  Rites  and  of  the  vagaries  of  those 
disseminating  them. 

Jacques  Ochs,  a  Roumanian,  claimed  au- 
thority, between  1890  and  189G,  from  the 
National  Grand  Lodge  of  Roumania  to  es- 
tablish Masonic  Lodges  in  the  United  States. 
His  authority  was  revoked,  and  he  then  ap- 
peared as  a  Representative  of  the  Grand 
Orient  of  Spain  for  the  Rite  of  "'  Memphis 
and  Misraim,"  and  established  Lodges  of 


something  in  New  York,  which  he  told  the 
initiates  were  regular  Masonic  bodies  in 
which  they  could  get  all  the  degrees  at  low 
rates.  His  operations  extended  to  Philadel- 
phia and  Chicago,  where  he  found  many 
dupes  at  so  much  per  capita.  He  was  de- 
nounced by  regular  Masonic  authorities,  and 
soon  found  himself  under  arrest,  after  which 
the  bodies  created  by  him  died  out.  It  was 
the  old  story  of  a  clever  degree-peddler  prey- 
ing upon  credulity  and  ignorance.  The 
Ochs  Rite  of  "  Memj^his  and  Misraim  "  Avas 
not  the  Marconis  Rite,  which  became  dor- 
mant here  about  1895,  and  in  which  a  num- 
ber of  prominent  Masons  were  interested  for 
a  brief  period.  The  death  of  the  latter  was 
due  to  structural  weakness  and  dry  rot. 
Seymour,  who  was  something  of  a  degree- 
peddler  himself,  induced  many  acquaint- 
ances to  join  the  Rite  under  the  impression 
they  were  uniting  with  the  Ancient  and 
Accej^ted  Scottish  Rite,  and,  so  long  as  he 
could  sell  them  paraphernalia,  costumes, 
etc.,  he  was  willing  to  let  the  members  rule 
and  govern  the  Rite,  although  he  himself 
was  the  Grand  Hierophant.  Notwithstand- 
ing this,  which  is  learned  from  those  to 
whom  it  was  a  matter  of  personal  experi- 
ence, a  number  of  prominent  Freemasons  be- 
came identified  with  the  Ancient  and  Prim- 
itive Rite  of  Memphis,  only  to  lose  interest 
and  drop  out.  This  Rite  is  a  masquerad- 
ing Rite  of  Misraim,  originally  founded  as 
a  rival  degree-shoj),  and  was  very  properly 
smothered  by  the ,  Grand  Orient  of  France 
in  1SG2,  Avhich  body,  it  would  seem,  was 
deceived  into  believing  the  founder  had 
delivered  up  all  authority  over  it.  It  went 
from  the  L'nited  States  to  England  and 
elsewhere  abroad,  where  it  was  apparently 
dressed  up  or  down,  so  that  not  even  Mar- 
conis, its  own  father,  would  know  it  under 
such  a  title  as  an  "  Oriental,  Scottish  Rite 
of  Memphis  and  Misraim."  The  rituals  of 
the  Rites  of  Misraim  and  of  Memphis  prop- 
erly belong  in  a  library  of  Masonic  curios. 

Freemasonry  :    Order    of  Knights  of 
Rome  and  of  the  Red  Cross  of  Con- 


FREEMASONRY:    KNIGHTS   OF    ROME   AND    RED   CROSS   OF   COXSTANTINK 


SI 


stantine.* — Sometimes  called  the  Order  of 
the  Red  Cross  of  Constantine,  said  to  be  the 
oldest  Order  of  Knighthood  conferred  in 
connection  with  Freemasonr}'.  The  origin 
of  the  Order  is  attributed  to  Constantine  the 
Great,  who,  just  before  the  battle  of  Saxa 
Rubra,  October  28,  a.d.,  312,  beheld  a 
vision  of  the  Passion  Cross  in  the  heavens, 
with  the  inscription  (usually  given  in 
Greek)  :  "Hoc  Vince  "  (Conquer  by  This), 
genera,lly  rendered  :  "  In  Hoc  Signo 
Vinces,"  whereupon  he  vowed  that,  if  suc- 
cessful against  the  enemy  and  his  life  was 
spared,  he  would  create  an  Order  of 
Knighthood  to  champion  the  Christian 
religion  and  commemorate  his  victory. 
This  he  is  declared  to  have  done  at  Rome, 
December  25,  a.d.  312.  Constantine,  at 
the  time  of  the  vision,  was  not  a  believer 
in  the  Christian  religion,  and  he  and  his 
friends  believed  that  the  Cross  in  the 
heavens  was  a  divine  omen.  To  emphasize 
his  conversion  to  Christianity,  Constantine 
caused  each  of  his  officers  who  had  em- 
braced tiie  Christian  religion  and  received 
at  his  hands  the  new  Order  of  Christian 
Knighthood  to  wear  a  Red  Cross  on  the 
breast  or  on  the  right  arm,  and  on  the 
Roman  Imperial  standards  he  placed  golden 
wreaths,  and  within  them  monograms  com- 
posed of  the  Greek  letters  "  Chi  "  {X)  and 
''Rho"  (P),  the  first  of  the  two  letters  of 
the  name  Christ.  Constantine,  the  first 
Christian  Roman  Emperor,  was  further 
identified  with  the  cause  of  Christianity 
through  his  mother,  Helena,  who,  in  the 
year  32C,  discovered  and  brought  out  of  the 
Hoh'  Land  the  remains  of  the  true  Cross, 
and  by  reason  of  his  having  convened  the 
Council  of  Nice  in  325,  where  Constantine 
was  received  by  Bishop  Eusebius  with  a 
panegyrical  oration.  Thus  it  is  that  a  recent 
writer  describes  the  Order  as  commemo- 
rating "the  first  elevation  of  Christianity 

*  This  Christian  Order  is  not  to  be  confoinuk'il 
with  the  Jewish  and  Persian  degree,  known  as  the 
Order  of   the  Red  Cross,  conferred  in  American 
Commanderies  of  Knights  Templars, 
6 


from  the  position  of  a  despised  and  pro- 
scribed heresy  to  that  of  a  legally  recog- 
nized and  honored  religion."  One  of  the 
first  acts  of  the  Original  Knights  of  the 
Red  Cross  of  Constantine  was  to  replace 
the  heathen  vsymbols  on  the  public  build- 
ings in  Rome  with  representations  of  the 
Red  Cross.  In  326  Emperor  Constantine 
instituted  the  Order  of  Knight  of  the 
Grand  Cross,  to  be  conferred  only  on 
Knights  of  the  Red  Cross  who  had  become 
distinguished  in  the  sciences,  the  learned 
professions,  or  in  the  army.  The  number 
of  Knights  of  the  Grand  Cross  created  by 
Emperor  Constantine  was  fifty,  and  in  1119, 
at  a  Grand  Assembly  of  Knights  of  the 
Order  at  Rome,  it  was  made  a  statute  of 
the  Order  that  only  fifty  Knights  of  the 
Grand  Cross  should  be  created  in  any  king- 
dom or  independent  country.  After  the 
death  of  Constantine,  in  337,  the  Popes  of 
Rome  claimed  and  exercised  sovereign 
authority  over  the  Order  for  many  years. 
It  is  related  that  in  765  the  Order  had 
among  its  members  emperors,  kings,  and 
princes,  when  the  first  jiilgrimage  was  made 
to  the  Holy  Sepulchre  under  its  banners. 
This  was  in  accord  with  the  obligations  of 
its  members,  for  in  314,  when  Constantine 
instituted  the  Order  of  Knights  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  at  the  prayer  of  his  mother, 
Helena,  they  were  especially  commissioned 
to  protect  the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  the 
attacks  of  enemies  of  the  Christian  faith. 
During  the  Crusades,  the  Order  of  Knights 
of  Rome  and  of  the  Red  Cross  of  Constan- 
tine were  widely  known.  In  1119  Em- 
peror ^Michael  Angelos  Com  menus  was 
elected  Sovereign  Grand  Master  of  the 
Order,  and  that  title  was  retained  in  his 
family  until  1699.  The  Order  was  revived 
in  England  in  1688  by  the  Venetian  am- 
bassador at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  Lon- 
don, and  in  1692  the  Abbe  Giustiniani,  a 
learned  Italian  priest,  conferred  the  Orders 
of  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross  of  Constantine, 
Holy  Sepulchre,  and  of  St.  John  the  Evan- 
gelist on  several  members  of  the  English 


82 


FREEMASONRY:    KNIGHTS   OF   ROME   AND   RED   CROSS   OF   CONSTANTINE 


Court.  It  is  to  the  Abbe  that  the  Order  is 
indebted  for  the  preservation  of  its  tradi- 
tions, hmdmarks,  and  rituals,  and  it  was 
from  the  hitter  that  Walter  Rod  well  Wright, 
Provisional  Grand  Sovereign  of  the  Order 
in  England  in  1804,  doubtless  gained  ma- 
terial for  the  preparation  of  the  modern 
ritual.  Baron  Huude,  in  his  "  History 
of  tlie  Templar  System  of  Strict  Observ- 
ance,'*' 1750,  states  :  "  The  great  and  rapid 
progress  of  Freemasonry  on  the  European 
Continent  is  largely  due  to  the  efforts  of 
the  Knights  of  Eome  and  of  the  Red  Cross 
of  Constantine."  The  claim  is  made  that 
the  Order  was  conferred  in  England  as  a 
Masonic  degree  as  early  as  1783,  and  that 
in  1788  it  was  conferred  upon  a  number  of 
English  Freemasons,  among  others,  officers 
of  both  of  the  Grand  Lodges  of  England. 
That  well-known  Freemason,  Thomas 
Dunckerly,  was  created  a  Knight  of  Rome 
and  of  the  Red  Cross  of  Constantine  in 
1790,  and  was  afterwards  Sovereign  Grand 
Master  of  the  Order  in  England,  and  at 
the  head  of  the  Order  of  the  Temple  at  the 
same  period.  Three  succeeding  heads  of 
the  Order  of  Knights  of  Constantine  were 
likewise  Grand  Masters  of  the  Order  of  the 
Temple.  Hughan,  the  Masonic  historian, 
states  that  while  the  Orders  of  the  Red 
Cross  of  Constantine  and  of  the  Temple 
were  for  many  years  "  worked "  harmo- 
niously, side  by  side,  they  "  were  kept 
strictly  separate,"'  and  the  fact  that  the 
Constantine  Orders  of  Knighthood  have 
been  conferred  only  upon  Freemasons  ever 
since  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
is  probably  due  to  that  association.  In 
1807  there  was  quite  a  revival  of  the  Order 
in  Europe  and  in  the  English  colonies, 
and  the  Orders  of  this  Christian  Knight- 
hood were  conferred  upon  many  Freema- 
sons among  the  English  nobility.  The 
Grand  Imperial  Council  of  England  was 
organized  at  London  in  1808,  and  in  the 
following  year  it  claimed  and  exercised  sov- 
ereignty over  the  Order  throughout  the 
world.     In  1809  the  London  Encampment 


(Conclave)  conferred  the  Orders  of  Chris- 
tian Knighthood  on  a  class  of  "^ eight 
prominent  high  Freemasons,"'  in  the  pres- 
ence of  several  Knights  of  the  Grand 
Cross  of  the  Order.  Members  of  both  the 
so-called  Ancient  and  the  Modern  English 
Grand  Lodges  of  Freemasons,  who  were 
members  of  the  Constantine  Orders,  took 
active  part  in  the  negotiations  which  led  to 
the  union  of  the  two  Grand  Masonic  Lodges 
in  1813,  when  the  Duke  of  Sussex  was 
elected  Grand  Master  of  the  United  Grand 
Lodge  of  England,  and  also  Sovereign 
Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Imperial  Coun- 
cil of  England  of  the  Order  ol  Knights  of 
Rome  and  of  the  Red  Cross  of  Constantine. 
During  the  period  1813-43  the  Order  again 
became  notable  as  "  the  first  Order  of 
Chivalry  in  Europe,"  some  of  its  chroni- 
clers adding  that  the  Grand  Cross  of  the 
Order  was  considered  as  great  an  honor  **as 
the  Order  of  the  Garter."  In  1862  the 
Knights  of  the  Grand  Cross  did  much  to 
attract  attention  to  the  Order  through  a 
ceremonial  commemorative  of  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Grand  Imperial  Council  more 
than  fifty  years  before,  in  which  the  Sir 
Knights  taking  part  included  members  of 
the  royal  family  and  many  other  gentle- 
men of  high  rank,  cabinet  officers,  members 
of  Parliament,  and  representatives  of  the 
army  and  navy. 

From  that  period  the  English  Grand  Im- 
perial Council  began  to  extend  the  Order, 
beginning  in  1866,  by  reviving  it  in  Ger- 
many, France,  Italy,  and  in  many  of  the 
English  colonies.  In  1869  it  was  introduced 
into  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  on  May 
19,  1870,  into  the  United  States,  at  Phila- 
delphia. In  1871  Conclaves  were  instituted 
in  New  York,  Massachusetts,  Kentucky, 
Indiana,  Vermont,  Maine,  New  Jersey, 
Michigan,  Virginia,  Delaware,  and  Mary- 
land, in  the  order  named.  The  Indepen- 
dent Grand  Council  of  Pennsylvania  was 
organized  in  1872,  the  Grand  Council  of 
New  York  and  Grand  Imperial  Councils 
of  Illinois,  Massachusetts,  and  Rhode  Island 


FREEMASONRY  :   KNIGHTS   OF   ROME   AXD   RED   CROSS   OF  COXSTANTINE 


83 


in  1872 ;  the  Imperial  Grand  Council  of 
Michigan  in  1874;  of  Kentucky,  Indiana, 
Vermont,  Maine,  andof  New  Jersey  in  1875; 
and  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  in  187G.  In 
1875,  according  to  the  "  Memorabilia,"  etc., 
prepared,  in  1895,  by  Thomas  Leahy  of 
Kochester,  N.  Y.,  Grand  Registrar  General 
of  the  Sovereign  Grand  Council  of  the 
United  States,  the  Sovereign  Grand  Council 
of  the  United  States  was  organized  at  New 
York  city,  by  representatives  of  all  the  then 
existing  State  Grand  and  Imperial  Councils 
of  the  Order,  all  of  which  gave  i)ledges  of 
"fealty  and  allegiance"  to  the  new  Sover- 
eign Grand  Council,  and  each  State  Grand 
body  surrendered  ''all  sovereignty  within 
its  territory."  On  this  point  George  W. 
Warvelle  of  Chicago,  representing  the  Im- 
perial Grand  Council  of  Illinois,  declares 
that  " no  such  record  exists.''  The  "State- 
ment," published  by  the  Imperial  Grand 
Council  of  Illinois  in  1895,  describes  the 
Sovereign  Grand  body  of  1875  as  merely 
a  "confederation''  of  State  Grand  Councils 
formed  to  "curb  the  pretensions  of  the 
mother  Grand  Council  of  England,  who, 
thi'ough  her  Intendent  General,  was  assum- 
ing powers  which  were  deemed  inimical  to 
the  American  bodies."  In  support  of  this 
it  quotes  from  Section  6  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  Sovereign  Grand  Council,  United 
States  of  America,  in  part  as  follows:  **Ifc 
(the  latter  body)  can  exercise  no  doubtful 
powers  nor  any  powers  by  implication 
merely;"  .  .  .  tiiat  all  powers  not  ex- 
pressly delegated  "are  reserved  to  the 
Grand  Councils  and  subordinate  Con- 
claves," etc.  ;  it  should  have  jurisdiction 
over  "all  Conclaves  established  by  itself," 
.  .  .  "where  there  is  no  Grand  Council 
established;".  .  .  but  "no  power  of  dis- 
cipline," etc.,  "over  the  State  Grand 
Councils,"  .  .  .  "nor  any  authority  to 
suspend  the  proceedings  of  any  State  Grand 
Council,"  etc. 

Thomas  Leahy,  Registrar  General  of  the 
Sovereign  Grand  Council  of  the  United 
States,  writes  : 


This  statement  had  not  been  made  prior  to  1895, 
and  was  never  thought  of  until  we  had  taken  ac- 
tion to  abolish  the  State  Grand  bodies  in  the  inter- 
est of  the  general  good  of  the  Order.  The  first 
Article  of  the  Constitution,  Section  1,  as  presented 
by  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Revision  of 
the  Constitution.  Charles  K.  Francis  (now  the 
leader  of  the  opponents  to  the  Sovereign  Grand 
Council),  is  in  conflict  with  the  statement  by  the 
Illinois  people.  It  reads  :  "  Sec.  1.  The  Supreme 
Governing  Body  in  tlie  United  States  of  the  Red 
Cross  of  Con.stantine,  Knights,  etc.,  shall  be  styled, 
etc."  Is  this  section  intended  to  imply  a  confed- 
eration? It  recognizes  a  "Supreme  Governing 
Body  "  and  that  of  the  Sovereign  Grand  Council. 

The  importance  of  this  lies  in  tlie  fact  that 
the  Illinois,  Pennsylvania,  Massachusetts, 
Vermont,  and  Maine  Grand  Councils  con- 
tinue to  maintain  independent  sovereign- 
ties and  deny  the  right  of  the  Sovereign 
Grand  Council,  United  States  of  America, 
to  claim  or  exercise  sole,  sovereign  jurisdic- 
tion for  tlie  Constantine  Orders  of  Knight- 
hood  in  this  country.  The  independent 
Grand  Councils  explain  that  a  i)rimary  ob- 
ject of  the  confederation  of  State  Councils 
was  to  acquire  jurisdiction  over  the  "un- 
occupied" portions  of  the  United  States 
then  claimed  by  the  Grand  Council  of 
England,  and  that  the  right  of  the  Sover- 
eign Grand  Council,  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica, to  occupy  American  territory  not  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  State  Grand  bodies  was 
practically  all  that  was  made  over  to  the 
Sovereign  body.  The  "  Memorabilia  "  sets 
forth  that  the  Imperial  Grand  Council 
of  England  waived  its  right  of  sovereignty 
over  any  portion  of  the  United  States  in 
1877,  and  entered  into  "a  treaty  of  amity" 
with  the  Sovereign  Grand  Council,  United 
States  of  America,  in  which  it  recognized  the 
sovereign  authority  of  the  latter  throughout 
this  country.  "The  Statement"  replies 
that  when  the  Sovereign  Grand  Council  of 
the  United  States  was  organized  in  1875, 
"  it  was  repudiated  by  tlie  Grand  Imperial 
Council  of  England,"  but  that  in  1877  two 
men,  the  Sovereign  Grand  Master  of  the 
Sovereign  Grand  Council,  United  States  of 
America,  and  the  Chief  Intendent  General 


84 


FREEMASONRY:  KNIGHTS  OF  ROME  AND   RED  CROSS   OF  CONSTANTINE 


for  the  United  States,  for  England,  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  the  English  (mother) 
Grand  Council,  "to  unite  into  one  Sui)renie 
Grand  body  all  Grand  and  subordinate 
bodies  in  the  United  States."  It  is  further 
declared  in  "The  Statement"  that  within 
a  year  the  treaty  was  "  repudiated  "  by  the 
English  Grand  Council,  notwithstanding 
which  the  Sovereign  Grand  Council,  United 
States  of  America,  continues  to  point  to  the 
treaty  as  the  basis  and  justification  of  its 
existence.  In  reply  to  this,  officials  of  the 
Sovereign  Grand  Council  deny  that  the 
treaty  has  been  repudiated.  The  records  of 
the  Sovereign  Grand  Council,  United  States 
of  America,  seem  to  confirm  "The  State- 
ment" in  its  charge  that  the  body  was 
practically  dormant  between  1880  and  1891, 
when,  as  explained  in  "The  Statement," 
"several  members"  met  at  Eochester, 
N".  Y.,  and  "assumed  to  open  a  Sovereign 
Grand  Council  and  transact  business." 
One  year  later  it  held  a  Conclave  at 
Bloomsburg,  Pa.,  and  claimed  exclusive 
authority  over  the  Constantine  Orders 
throughout  the  United  States,  basing  the 
claim  on  the  treaty  of  1877.  The  Sover- 
eign Grand  Council  has  continued  to  hold 
annual  sessions  ever  since,  but  Imperial 
Grand  Councils  in  Pennsylvania,  Illinois, 
Vermont,  Maine,  and  elsewhere  refuse  to 
recognize  it. 

All  of  the  State  Grand  Councils  named, 
and  the  Sovereign  body  as  well,  declare  that 
they  have  cordial  relations  with  the  English 
Grand  Council.  The  total  membership  of 
the  Sovereign  Grand  Council,  it  is  claimed, 
exceeds  1,600.  Including  the  five  indepen- 
dent Imperial  Grand  Councils  and  those  in 
Canada  and  the  United  Kingdom,  it  is  esti- 
mated there  are  5,000  American  and  foreign 
Knights  of  Rome  and  of  the  Red  Cross  of 
Constantine.  On  the  introduction  of  the 
Order  into  the  United  States,  Knights  Tem- 
plars and  thirty-second  degree  Scottish  Rite 
Freemasons  alone  were  admitted  to  it,  but 
some  years  later  Royal  Arch  Masons  were 
rendered  eligible.     The    Sovereign   Grand 


Council  changed  its  rules  in  1897  so  that 
Master  Masons  may  become  members,  thus 
apparently  seeking  to  popularize  the  Order. 
The  view  taken  by  the  independent  Grand 
Councils  seems  to  be  that  there  are  enough 
popular  Masonic  Orders,  and  that  this  one 
should  constitute  "  a  purely  intellectual 
branch  of  Freemasonry  .  .  .  devoted 
wholly  to  the  cultivation  of  the  higher  fac- 
ulties," rather  than  to  gaining  recruits. 

Four  Orders  are  conferred  by  Grand 
Councils  of  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross  of 
Rome  and  Constantine — the  first,  the  one 
having  that  title  ;  the  second,  the  Order  of 
Knights  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  ;  the  third, 
the  Order  of  Knights  of  St.  John  the  Evan- 
gelist, and,  finally,  as  a  mark  of  especial 
honor  for  high  Masonic  ofiicials  or  for  zeal 
in  Masonic  work,  the  Order  of  Knight  of 
the  Grand  Cross,  membership  in  which  is 
limited  to  fifty  in  each  country.  In  addi- 
tion to  these,  the  Order  of  Holy  Wisdom,  or 
Knight  Templar  Priest,  is  conferred  by 
some  Grand  Councils.  It  is  said  to  have 
been  instituted  in  1686,  and  when  conferred 
in  "old  Encampments  which  practised  the 
seven  steps  of  chivalry  "  was  the  ceremony 
for  constituting  chaplains.  After  the  re- 
organization of  the  Chivalric  Orders  it  be- 
came an  appendant  to  the  Order  of  Con- 
stantine. The  "seven  steps  of  chivalry" 
are  classified  in  "  Masonry  in  Europe,"  by 
Witter,  Berlin,  1832,  as  follows:  "1st, 
Knights  of  Rome  and  of  the  Red  Cross  of 
Constantine  and  Knight  of  the  Grand  Cross, 
the  oldest  Order  of  Chivalry ;  2d,  Knights 
Templars ;  3d,  Knights  of  Malta  ;  4th, 
Knights  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  appended 
to  which  is  the  Order  of  Knights  of  St. 
John  of  Palestine,  or  St.  John  the  Evangel- 
ist ;  5th,  Rose  Croix ;  6th,  Templar  Priest- 
hood ;  and  7th,  Commander  Elect,  Knight 
of  Kadosch.  No  one  American  Masonic 
body  confers  all  of  these  Orders.  The  sec- 
ond and  third  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Grand  Encampment  of  Knights  Tem- 
plars of  the  United  States ;  the  fifth  and 
seventh  are  controlled  by  the  Supreme  Coun- 


FREEMASONRY:   KNIGHTS   OF   ROME   AND   RED   CROSS   OF   CONSTANTINE 


85 


cils  of  the  Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Rite 
of  Freemasonry  for  the  Southern  and  North- 
ern Masonic  Jurisdictions,  United  States  of 
America,  respectively;  the  fourth  and  sixtli 
by  Imperial  Grand  Councils  and  by  the  Sov- 
ereign Grand  Council  of  Knights  of  Rome 
and  of  the  Red  Cross  of  Constantino  ;  and 
the  first  by  the  Supreme  Grand  Chapter  of 
the  Grand  Cross  of  Constantino,  United 
States  of  America,  composed  of  representa- 
tives of  the  independent  Sovereign  Grand 
Councils,  and  also  by  the  Sovereign  Grand 
Council,  United  States  of  America. 

The  Supreme  Grand  Chapter  of  the 
Grand  Cross  of  Constantino,  of  which 
Charles  K.  Francis,  Philadelphia,  is  Regis- 
trar General,  is  the  highest  body  of  the 
Order  in  the  country  recognized  by  the 
independent  Sovereign  Grand  Councils.  It 
was  organized  June  21,  1877,  under  au- 
thority granted  the  late  Colonel  W.  J.  B. 
McLeod  Moore,  33°,  Grand  Prior  of  Knights 
Templars  of  Canada,  who  established  the 
Order  of  Coustantine  in  America  by  author- 
ity received  from  the  Earl  of  Bective,  then 
Grand  Sovereign  of  the  Grand  Imperial 
Council  of  England.  The  Supreme  Grand 
Chapter  is  to  the  independent  State  Im- 
perial Councils  what  the  Supreme  Council, 
Ancient,  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  is  to  the 
bodies  holding  allegiance  to  it,  retaining 
exclusive  right  to  confer  the  Order  of  the 
Grand  Cross,  as  does  the  latter  the  right  to 
confer  the  thirty-third  degree.  Among  the 
officers  and  members  of  the  Supreme  Grand 
Chapter  of  the  Grand  Cross  of  Constantino 
are  :  John  Corson  Smith,  33°,  of  Illinois, 
its  Grand  Sovereign  (Past  Grand  Master  of 
Masons.  Past  Grand  Higli  Priest  of  Royal 
Arch  Masons,  Past  Grand  Commander  of 
Knights  Templars);  Josiah  H.  Drummond, 
33°,  of  Maine,  its  Grand  Viceroy  (Past 
Grand  Master  of  Masons,  Past  General 
Grand  High  Priest  of  the  General  Grand 
Chai^tcr,  Past  Grand  Commander  of  Knights 
Tem])lars, Past  Sovereign  Grand  Commander 
of  the  Supreme  Council,  33°,  A.  A.  S.  R., 
Northern  Jurisdiction);  Gilbert "W.  Barnard, 


33°,  of  Illinois  (Grand  Secretary  of  the 
various  Masonic  Grand  Bodies  in  Illinois); 
Marquis  F.  King,  33°,  of  Maine  (Past 
Grand  Master  of  Masons);  Hugh  McCurdy, 
33°,  of  Miciiigan  (Past  Grand  Master  of 
Masons,  Past  Grand  High  Priest  of  Royal 
Arch  Masons,  Past  Grand  Master  of  the 
Grand  Encampment  of  Knights  Templars); 
Abraliam  T.  Metcalf,  33°,  of  Michigan 
(Past  Grand  Master  of  Masons);  Francis 
A.  Blades,  33°,D.  Burnham  Tracy,  33°,  and 
Nicholas  Coulson,  33",  of  Miciiigan;  Marsh 
0.  Perkins,  33°,  of  Vermont  (Past  Grand 
Master  of  Masons);  George  0.  Tyler,  33°, 
of  Vermont  (Past  Grand  Commander  of 
Knights  Templars);  Silas  W.  Cummings, 
33°,  of  Vermont  (Past  Grand  Commander 
of  Knights  Templars);  D.  N.Nicholson,  33^, 
of  Vermont  ;  Millard  F.  Hicks,  33°,  and 
Edward  P.  Burnham,  33°,  of  Maine  ; 
Seranus  Bowen,  33°,  of  Massachusetts 
(Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
Royal  Arch  Masons);  Benjamin  W.  Rowell, 
33°,  of  Massachusetts  (Grand  Recorder  of 
Grand  Commandery  of  Knigiits  Templars); 
Caleb  Saunders,  33°,  Massachusetts  (Past 
Grand  Commander  of  Knights  Templars); 
Frederick  Webber,  33°,  Washington,  D.  C. 
(Grand  Secretary  General  of  Supreme 
Council,  33°,  A.  A.  S.  R.,  Southern  Juris- 
diction); Edward  T.  Schultz  of  Maryland 
(Masonic  Historian,  Past  Grand  High  Priest 
of  Royal  Arcii  Masons,  Past  Grand  Com- 
mander of  Knights  Templars);  Thomas  R. 
Patton,  33°,  of  Pennsylvania  (Grand  Treas- 
urer of  Grand  Lodge  and  Grand  Chapter); 
Charles  Cary,  33^,  of  Pennsylvania  (Grand 
Secretary  of  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch 
Masons  and  Grand  Master  of  Royal  aiul 
Select  Masters);  John  Sartaiu,  33°,  Penn- 
sylvania ;  Edward  S.  Wyckofif,  33°,  Penn- 
sylvania ;  Edward  B.  S])cncer.  Pennsylvania 
(Grand  Scribe  of  Grand  Ciiapter  of  Royal 
Arch  Masons  and  Past  Grand  Commander 
of  Knights  Temi)lar8)  ;  Andrew  J.  Kaufif- 
man,  Pennsylvania  (Past  Grand  Commander 
of  Knights  Templars);  Harvey  A.  McKillip, 
33°,    Pennsylvania    (Past  Grand  Master  of 


86 


FREEMASONRY:   SOCIETY   OF  MODERN   ROSICRUCIANS 


Eoyal  and  Select  Masters);  Charles  K. 
Francis,  33°,  Pennsylvania  (Past  Grand 
Master  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters).  Charles 
F.  Matier  is  Grand  Representative  of  the 
Supreme  Grand  Chapter  of  the  Grand  Cross, 
United  States  of  America,  near  the  Grand 
Imperial  Council  of  England,  and  Lord 
Saltsun  is  Grand  Representative  near  the 
Grand  Imperial  Council  of  Scotland. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  Supreme  Grand 
Chapter  at  Boston,  September  21,  1897, 
apjDropriate  tributes  were  paid  the  mem- 
ories of  deceased  members,  Charles  T. 
McClenachan,  33°,  Masonic  Historian 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York ; 
Anthony  E.  Stocker,  33°,  Pennsylvania 
(Past  Grand  Commander  of  Knights  Tem- 
plars); and  Daniel  Spry,  33°,  Grand  Repre- 
sentative near  the  Grand  Imperial  Council 
of  Canada  ;  and  the  Registrar  General  read 
the  following  letter  from  the  Masonic  His- 
torian, W.  J.  Hughan,  Torquay,  England, 
himself  a  Knight  of  the  Grand  Cross  : 

Your  invitation  to  attend  the  Supreme  Grand 
Chapter  of  the  United  States  of  America  j  ust  at  hand. 
I  cannot  attend,  but  wish  it  were  possible,  so  as  to  grip 
you  by  the  hand,  and  others  of  my  valued  brethren. 

These  personal  references  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  many  of  the  more  distinguished 
Freemasons  in  the  country  oppose  the 
claim  of  the  Sovereign  Grand  Council  to 
exclusive  jurisdiction  over  the  Constantine 
Orders  in  the  United  States.  In  reply  to 
an  inquiry  as  to  the  status  of  the  Order  of 
Rome  and  the  Red  Cross  of  Constantine  in 
the  United  States,  C.  F.  Matier,  Registrar 
General  of  the  English  (mother)  Imperial 
Grand  Council,  wrote  as  follows,  September 
15,  1897  : 

I  am  directed  and  have  the  honor  to  say  that  a 
conference  of  the  Imperial  Grand  Councils  of  Eng- 
land and  Scotland  will  be  held  in  Edinburgh  in 
April,  1898,  and  that  the  whole  question  of  the 
position  of  the  bodies  claiming  to  be  the  supreme 
governing  bodies  in  America  will  be  fully  con- 
sidered. As  it  is  believed  that  representatives 
from  the  U.  S.  A.  will  be  present,  it  is  sincerely 
hoped  that  the  conference  will  settle  the  cause  of 
disagreement  in  the  Order  forever. 


Freemasonry:  Society  of  Modern  Ros- 
icrucians. — Founded  more  than  a  score  of 
years  ago,  according  to  the  account  pub- 
lished by  the  High  Council  of  the  Societatis 
Rosicruciana^,  United  States  of  America,  by 
Robert  Wentworth  Little,  of  England,  upon 
"  the  remains  of  an  old  German  association 
which  had  come  under  his  observation  dur- 
ing some  of  his  researches."  The  Angli- 
cized organization  was  created  as  a  literary 
society,  to  collect  ' "  archgeological  and  his- 
torical subjects  pertaining  to  Freemasonry  ' ' 
and  secret  societies  in  general;  to  stimulate 
search  for  historical  truth,  particularly  with 
reference  to  Freemasonry;  and  to  revive  in- 
terest in  the  work  of  certain  scientists  and 
scholars.  In  this  effort  Mr.  Little,  a  dis- 
tinguished Freemason,  was  assisted  by  such 
well-known  members  of  the  Craft  as  William 
Robert  Woodman,  Thomas  B.  Whytehead, 
AYilliam  James  Hughan,  and  Cuthbert  E. 
Peck  in  England,  the  Earl  of  Kintore  and 
Robert  Smith  Brown  in  Scotland,  Prince 
Rhodokanakis  and  Professor  Emmanuel 
Gellanis  in  Greece;  and  Colonel  W.  J.  B. 
Moore  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  Rosi- 
crucian  societies  were  promptly  established 
in  England,  Scotland,  Greece,  and,  later, 
in  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  Like  or- 
ganizations may  also  be  found  in  Ireland, 
India,  China,  and  in  Tunis.  In  1879  the 
High  Council  of  Scotland  established  a 
Rosicrucian  Society  at  Philadelphia,  and 
in  1880  one  each  at  New  York,  Boston, 
and  Baltimore,  representatives  from  which 
met  at  Boston  on  September  21  the  same 
year,  and  established  a  High  Council  for  the 
United  States,  to  hold  jurisdiction  within 
the  same  and  regulate  the  relations  of  the 
society  here  with  other  independent  jurisdic- 
tions. The  constitution  adopted  provides 
that  no  aspirants  shall  be  admitted  except 
Master  Masons  of  good  moral  character,  in- 
telligent, ''  free  from  prejudice,  and  anxious 
for  instruction."  Every  f rater  is  required 
to  choose  a  Latin  motto,  which  is  to  be  ap- 
pended to  his  signature  in  all  communica- 
tions to  the  Society,  which  shall  be  registered 


FREEMASONRY:    ROYAL   ORDER   OF   SCOTLAND 


87 


and  never  be  changed,  and  no  two  fraters 
are  permitted  to  have  the  same  motto.  The 
Society,  wliich  is  secret  in  form,  confers  four 
grades  composing  the  first  order,  and  three 
in  tlie  second,  in  colleges;  and  two  grades  in 
the  third  order,  in  High  Council  only.  The 
grades  are  as  follows:  First,  Zelator;  sec- 
ond, Theoricus;  third,  Practicus;  fourth, 
Philosophus;  fifth,  Adeptus  Junior;  sixth, 
Adeptus  Senior;  seventh,  Adeptus  Exemp- 
tus;  eighth,  Magister  Templi  (official); and, 
ninth,  Chief  Adept,  held  by  appointment. 
Colleges  are  limited  to  seventy-two  active 
members.  In  the  publication  referred  to, 
Charles  E.  Meyer  of  Philadelphia  is  named 
as  Supreme  Magus ;  Albert  G,  Goodale, 
New  York,  Senior  Substitute  Magus;  Al- 
fred F.  Chapman,  Boston,  Junior  Substitute 
Magus;  Thomas  J.  Shryock,  Baltimore, 
Treasurer  General;  and  Charles  T.  McClena- 
chan.  New  York,  Secretary  General.  These 
gentlemen,  some  of  whom  are  dead,  may  be 
regarded  as  the  founders  of  the  Modern 
Eosicrucian  Society  in  the  United  States. 

The  work  and  purposes  of  modern  Eosi- 
crucian Societies  only  faintly  resemble  an- 
cient Eosicrucianism,  as  the  latter  is  often 
understood.  Neither,  so  far  as  learned,  do 
they  claim  any  connection  with  the  latter 
beyond  what  may  be  inferred  from  the  state- 
ment that  the  English  Society  was  founded 
on  the  ""remains  of  an  old  German  asso- 
ciation." 

The  Eosicrucian  Society  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  was  supposed  to  be  in  some 
way  related  to  Freemasonry,  Avhich  was  prob- 
ably an  error,  as  the  former  embodied  a  sys- 
tem of  hermetic  philosophy,  while  the  Free- 
masons at  that  time  were  nearly  all  operative 
masons  and  builders.  There  is  no  relation 
whatever  between  the  rose  and  the  cross  of 
the  Eosicrucians  and  like  emblems  in  the 
Masonic  degree  of  the  Eose  Croix,  which 
was  invented  about  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  The  Eosicrucians  employed 
a  number  of  so-called  Masonic  emblems,  but 
they  interpreted  them  differently.  The 
ancient   philosophic   sect   took    its    rise   in 


Germany  shortly  after  the  appearance  of  the 
religious,  mystical,  and  philosophic  works, 
"  Fama  Fraternis,"  '"Chemical  Nuptials," 
and  other  books  by  John  Valentine  Andrae, 
in  which  he  recounted  the  adventures  of 
"Christian  Eosenkreuz,"  a  fictitious  per- 
sonage, whom  he  makes  the  founder  of  the 
pretended  Society  of  Eosicrucians.  It  is 
pointed  out  by  Mackey  that  so  great  was 
the  effect  of  these  publications  that  a  secret 
philosophic  sect  of  Eosicrucians  was  formed, 
many  members  of  which  were  found  in  Ger- 
many, France,  and  England  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  The  publication  by  the 
American  Eosicrucian  Society  refers  the 
origin  of  its  ancient  prototype  to  the  thir- 
teenth century,  which  is  manifestly  an  error. 
No  association  by  the  name  has  been  traced 
back  of  Andrae's  account  of  a  fictitious  so- 
ciety of  that  title.  It  was  not  strange  that 
the  general  public  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury and  later  should  have  attributed  sor- 
cery, alchemy,  and  other  occult  gifts  to  the 
Eosicrucians,  but  at  this  day  the  names  of 
such  Eosicrucians  as  John  Baptist  von  Ilel- 
mont,  physician;  Eobert  Fludd,  i)hysician 
and  philosopher,  who  died  in  1637,  and 
Elias  Ashmole,  the  English  antiquary, 
among  many  others  who  were  j)i"ominent, 
would  suggest  that  they  were  leaders  among 
mystical  and  iihilosophic  thinkers  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  ago. 

Freemasonry  :  Royal  Order  of  Scot- 
land.— A  ]\Iasonic  Order  of  Knighthood 
conferred  upon  Eoyal  Arch  ]\rasons.  It 
consists  of  two  degrees  or  orders,  the  Eoyal 
Orders  of  Herodem  and  of  the  Eosy  Cross. 
The  Eoyal  Order  of  Ilerodem  of  Kilwinning, 
Scotland,  which  by  its  own  legend  is  said 
to  have  taken  its  rise  in  the  time  of  David 
I.,  King  of  Scotland,  presents  the  sacrifice 
of  the  Messiah,  whereupon  the  candidate  is 
sent  into  the  world  to  search  for  the  lost 
word.  Its  traditions  state  that  it  was  estab- 
lished at  Icomkill.  Scotland,  afterward  at 
Kilwinning,  where  Eobert  Bruce,  King  of 
Scotland,  presided  in  person,  and  in  1314 
"reinstated  the  Order,"  admitting  into  it 


88 


FREEMASONRY:    ROYAL   ORDER   OF   SCOTLAND 


such  Knights  Temphirs  as  had  fled  to 
Scotland  after  the  dissolution  of  the  Tem- 
plars and  under  his  protection  had  taken 
part  in  the  battle  of  Bannockburn.  Its 
ritual  is  in  antiquated  Anglo-Saxon  verse. 
The  Order  of  St.  Andrew  of  the  Thistle, 
afterward  amalgamated  Avith  the  Royal 
Order  of  Ilerodem,  was  instituted  by  Robert 
Bruce,  King  of  Scotland,  on  July  2-4,  1314, 
to  be  conferred,  it  is  said,  upon  Scottish 
Freemasons  who  fought  with  him,  among 
thirty  thousand  others,  at  the  battle  of 
Bannockburn,  against  an  English  army  of 
one  hundred  thousand  men.  "^At  aboiit  that 
time/'  says  Thor}^  ''he  formed  the  Royal 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  Order  of  Herodem,  re- 
serving to  himself  and  his  successors  forever 
the  title  of  Grand  Master."  The  Order  of 
Herodem  is  said  to  have  been  introduced 
into  Kilwinning  at  about  the  time  that 
Freemasonry  appeared  in  Scotland,  and 
Mackey  regards  it  probable  that  the  Order 
was  designed  to  make  plain  the  rites  and 
symbols  used  by  the  Christian  builders  in  a 
truly  catholic  manner,  adapted  to  all  who 
acknowledge  one  Supreme  God,  whether 
Jew  or  Gentile. 

The  second  degree  of  the  Royal  Order  of 
Scotland,  the  Order  of  the  Rosy  Cross,  is  an 
Order  of  Civil  Knighthood,  which,  it  is 
stated,  was  founded  by  Robert  Bruce  after 
the'  battle  of  Bannockburn,  and  conferred 
upon  certain  Freemasons  who  had  assisted 
him.  It  may  only  be  conferred  by  the 
Grand  Master,  his  Deputy,  or  a  Provincial 
Grand  Master.  The  number  who  may  re- 
ceive it  is  limited.  Formerly  it  was  sixty- 
three,  who  were  to  be  Scotchmen,  but  the 
number  has  since  been  increased,  and  dis- 
tinguished Freemasons  in  almost  all  coun- 
tries may  now  receive  it  uj'ion  being 
•'adopted"  as  Scottish  (not  Scottish  Rite) 
Freemasons.  It  has  also  been  claimed  that 
the  Order  of  the  Rosy  Cross  was  practically 
made  up  of  the  ancient  Order  of  the  This- 
tle, and  that  the  ceremonial  of  initiation 
into  the  latter  was  borrowed  bodily.  In 
any  event,  the  Rosy  Cross  comes  more  nearly 


to  being  a  genuine  Order  of  Knighthood 
than  almost  any  other  conferred  in  connec- 
tion with  Freemasonry,  and  in  it  is  found 
the  intimate  connection  between  the  sword 
and  the  trowel  which  is  referred  to  in  sev- 
eral others.  Its  ritual  is  distinctly  Chris- 
tian. As  in  the  Order  of  Herodem,  the 
office  of  Grand  Master  is  vested  in  the  King 
of  Scotland  (now  of  Great  Britain),  and  in 
his  absence  a  seat  is  always  kept  vacant  for 
him  in  whatever  country  a  Chajiter  is  held. 
Owing  to  the  similarity  between  names,  the 
Order  of  the  Rosy  Cross  and  that  of  the 
Rose  Croix  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite,  the  belief  has  prevailed  that 
the  latter,  in  some  way,  is  based  upon  the 
former.  This  appeared  to  be  true,  because 
both  claimed  to  have  had  their  seats  of  gov- 
ernment at  Kilwinning,  near  the  Irish  Sea, 
in  Scotland,  because  both  gave  a  Christian 
interpretation  to  the  three  symbolic  degrees 
of  Freemasonry,  and  because  the  names  of 
both  bear  a  striking  resemblance.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  there  is  no  further  similarity 
and  no  connection  whatever.  Their  cere- 
monials and  essentials  are  entirely  different. 

Provincial  Grand  Lodges  of  the  Royal  Or- 
der of  Scotland,  one  of  tlie  oldest  continu- 
ous appendent  Orders  of  Freemasonry,  are 
now  held  in  Glasgow  and  Aberdeenshire, 
Scotland;  Yorkshire,  Northumberland,  Dur- 
ham, Cumberland,  Lancashire,  Cheshire, 
and  London,  England  ;  Western  India ; 
China;  New  Brunswick,  Prince  Edward  Is- 
land, Ontario,  and  Quebec;  Natal,  Cape 
Colony,  Switzerland,  and  the  United  States, 
where  chairs  are  always  kept  vacant  for  the 
hereditary  Grand  Master. 

The  Royal  Order  of  Scotland  was  intro- 
duced into  the  United  States  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  May  4,  1878,  in  the  rooms  of 
the  Supreme  Council  of  the  Ancient,  Ac- 
cepted Scottish  Rite  for  the  Southern  Ma- 
sonic Jurisdiction,  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica, when  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  for 
the  United  States  was  instituted  by  virtue 
of  a  charter  issued  by  the  Grand  Lodge  at 
Edinburgh,  Scotland,  in  which  Sir  Albert 


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90 


FREEMASONRY:   STATISTICS   OF   MEMBERSHIP 


Pike  is  named  as  the  Provincial  Grand  Mas- 
ter; Josiab  Hayden  Drummond,  Maine, 
Deputy  Provincial  Grand  Master;  Albert 
Gallatin  Mackey,  then  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  Senior  Provincial  Grand  War- 
den; Samuel  Crocker  Lawrence,  Massachu- 
setts, Junior  Provincial  Grand  "Warden; 
William  Morton  Ireland,  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  Provincial  Grand  Secretary;  Eob- 
ert  McCoskry  Graham,  New  York,  Provin- 
cial Grand  Treasurer ;  John  Robin  Mc- 
Daniel,  Virginia,  Provincial  Grand  Sword- 
Bearer ;  Vincent  Lombard  Hurlbut,  Illinois, 
Provincial  Grand  Banner-Bearer;  Enoch 
Terry  Carson,  Ohio,  Provincial  Grand  Mari- 
schal;  Henry  L.  Palmer,  Wisconsin,  Deputy 
Provincial  Grand  Marischal;  Charles  Roome, 
New  York,  Senior  Provincial  Grand  Stew- 
ard, and  James  Cunningham  Batchelor, 
Louisiana,  Provincial  Grand  Steward.  The 
meetings  of  the  Provinpial  Grand  Lodge  are 
held  annually,  at  the  same  time  and  place 
as  the  Supreme  Councils  of  the  Scottish  Rite 
for  the  Southern  and  the  Northern  Jurisdic- 
tion of  the  United  States  alternately.  The 
present  Provincial  Grand  Master  is  Josiah 
Hayden  Drummond  of  Portland,  ]\[e.,  who 
succeeded  to  that  office  upon  the  death  of 
Albert  Pike  in  1891.  •  The  secretariat,  with 
the  records,  files,  etc.,  is  at  the  Cathedral 
of  the  Scottish  Rite,  Xo.  1007  G  Street,  N. 
W.,  Washington,  D,  C.  The  present  mem- 
bership of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of 
the  United  States  is  284. 

Freemasonry  :  Statistics  of  Meinber- 
sliip. — Among  the  long  list  of  secret  soci- 
eties, the  names  of  which  are  familiar  to 
newspaper  readers,  there  are  eleven  Avhich 
may  be  classed  as  international,  statistics  of 
membership  of  which  are  presented  in  a 
separate  exhibit.  These  data,  the  most 
comprehensive  of  the  kind  ever  prepared, 
have  been  compiled  through  the  cooi:)era- 
tion  of  representatives  of  each  of  them. 
Unusually  full  particulars  concerning  the 
number  of  Freemasons  in  various  coun- 
tries, states,  and  provinces  throughout  the 
world  are  to  be  credited  to  the  researches  of 


Stephen  Berry  and  Josiah  H.  Drummond, 
Portland,  Me. ;  the  late  Charles  T.  McClena- 
chan  of  New  York;  to  the  Grand  Secreta- 
ries of  Grand  Lodges  and  other  Masonic 
Grand  bodies  throughout  the  United  States 
and  British  North  America;  to  Grand  Sec- 
retaries of  nearly  every  foreign  Grand  Lodge; 
and  many  others  distinguished  as  Masonic 
students  or  historians,  with  whom  corre- 
spondence has  been  conducted.  Similar 
recognition  is  due  to  Secretaries  of  Supreme 
or  Grand  bodies  and  other  representatiA'^es 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
Ancient  Order  of  Foresters,  Independent 
Order  of  Good  Templars,  Grand  United  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows  (membership  of  which 
in  the  United  States  is  composed  of  negroes). 
Independent  Order  of  Rechabites,  Ancient 
Order  of  Hibernians,  Sons  of  Temperance, 
United  Ancient  Order  of  Druids,  B'nai 
B'rith,  and  the  Loyal  Orange  Institution. 
The  Freemasons  are  shown  to  be  the  most 
numerous  and  by  far  the  most  Avidely  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  world.  If  non-af- 
filiated Freemasons  were  counted,  the  total 
membershijD  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity  would 
undoubtedly  amount  to  about  2,000,000,  be- 
cause those  able  to  judge  estimate  that  out  of 
the  whole  number  of  living  members  of  the 
Craft,  about  40  per  cent,  are  non-affiliates. 
The  total  of  11,000  Freemasons  in  Cuba  re- 
fers to  the  period  just  before  the  outbreak 
of  the  revolution  prior  to  the  Spanish- 
American  War,  and  includes  non-affiliates. 
No  one  of  the  ten  fraternities,  statistics  of 
membership  of  which  are  compared  with 
those  of  the  Freemasons,  is  very  widely  dis- 
tributed over  the  globe.  In  contrast  with 
an  exhibit  which  jioints  to  Masonic  Lodges 
in  almost  every  civilized  part  of  the  Avorld 
except  Russia,  Austria,  and  part  of  Asia 
Minor,  accompanying  comparative  statistics 
show  only  three  other,  out  of  ten  interna- 
tional secret  societies,  with  anything  like  a 
cosmopolitan  character — the  Ancient  Order 
of  Foresters,  Independent  Order  of  Good 
Templars,  and  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.     The  stronghold  of  the  An- 


FREEMASONRY:   STATISTICS   OF   MEMBERSHIP 


91 


GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION    OF    MEMBERSHIP   OF    ELEVEN   INTERNATIONAL 

SECRET  SOCIETIES. 


Mbmbkrship 
1895-1896. 

So 

< 

o 

o  5 

-a 

£-2=3 
o 

II 

►-1 

■2-2 

11 

United     An- 
cient Onler 
of  Druids. 

Bnai  B'rith. 

Independent 
Order  of 
Hechabites. 

Independent 
Order  of  Odd 
Fellows. 

Anc.  Free  and 
Aceepted 
Masons. 

16,000 
14,200 

158,788 

22,737 

523 

1,422 

33,390 
30,668 

72,039 
214 

100,000 
F  383,000 

165,000 

17,000 

.35,000 

'( 4,000 1 

745,508 
i3,460 

735,437 

31,487 

7(K) 

125 

3,000 

1 

Totals 

30,200 

183,470 

64,058 

72,253 

r 

■   704 

483,000 

165,000 

17,000 

35,000 

4,000 

779,093 

770,624 

700 

I 

200 

[ 

150 

! 

ISO 

35 



1 

1 

75 

35 

1,275 

2ft4 

11,000 

Haj'ti                               .... 

;■  ■• 

1 

,-        2,500 

j 

400 

350 

193 

391 

250 

150 

aw 

100 

100 

Totals         

437 

391 

264 

14,850 

12,000 

3,000 

2,200 

2,000 

Ohue 

154 
54 

600 

29 
23 
223 

600 

300 

The  (.3)  Guiueas .. 

250 

100 

Bolivia 

100 

Totals 

274 

704 
92,000 

208 
(■•••/ 

V.:::\ 

3,193 
89 

21,150 

England  and  Wales 

Scotland       

708,.582 

54,852 

1,628 

56,167 

45,886 

5,927 

1,723 

1 30,000 

760,000 

50,000 

66,000 
2,000 

1 

!-  2,000 

216,000 

3:}5.000 

44,000 

27,000 

520 

20,000 

Italy 

100 

132 

600 

C243 

16.000 

Holland  

480 

5.000 

3.504 
73,321 

4.000 

4,000 

3,500 

■{ 

3,500 

476 

500 

2,900 

1 

1 

2.000 

1 

1 

1.500 

Turkey 

1 

1,000 

400 

200 

Malta 

130 

150 

Totals 

760,192 
49 

177,004 
-  6,016 

30,000 

92,000 
■   300 

760,000 

50.000 

68,000 

2,000 
•   700-j 

216,000 

4,857 

470,150 
7,000 

1,500 

1,000 

Japan  .... 

34 

400 

250 

Totals 

49 

6,016 

300 

700 

34 

10,150 



C— Sweden  onlv. 


F— British  North  America. 


92 


FREEMASONRY:   STATISTICS   OF  MEMBERSHIP 


GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION    OF    MEMBERSHIP  OP  ELEVEN    INTERNATIONAL 

SECRET   SOCIETIES.  —Continued. 


Membership 
1895-1896. 

o  S 

1i  o 

< 

c 
*i  o 

lit 

3 

is. 

Mo 

II 

c  3  o 

M 

'S 
a 

C  t-  C3 
a>  ^  o 

-Sow 

-BO  g 

c  -  S 
o  c  o 

fll 

Anc.  Free  and 
Accepted 
MasonB. 

South  Africa 

2,451 

1 
•  7,236 

r 

I 

1       r 

-  190- 

1 

J           I 

-   300 -i 

6,000 
500 

2.000 
300 

"           "     Islands 

Egypt  

Algiers 

Liberia 

70 

250 

Canary  Islands 

200 
50 

Azores       "      

Incl.  in 
Liberia. 

Tunis         "      

150 

Madeira     "      

150 

Morocco   

100 

Senegal  

Incl.  in 
Liberia. 

100 

St.  Helena 

100 

Totals 

2,521 

31,188 

7,236 
1 20,081 

9,944 

190 
16,000 

300 

9,900 

Australia 

( 

18,000 

i  19,433 

Tasmania 

1 

26,000 

New  Zealand 

9,862 

V:::."" 

Totals 

41,050 

20,081 

9,944 

16,000 

18,000 

19,433 

26,000 
100 

New  Caledonia 

Fiji  Islands 

100 

Hawaiian  Islands 

28 
30 

179 

700 

Other  Oceana 

] 

Totals 

58 

i 

179 

900 

Grand  Totals 

880,707 
D 

397,043 
A 

104,002 

221,447 
E 

1,44;3,000 
G 

215,000 

103,000 

38,000 

230,000 

912,500 
B 

1,324,929 

A— Includes  2,200  in  Iceland,  100  in  Isle  of  Man,  and  545  in  Channel  Islands— in  all,  2,845. 

B— Includes  108.4.32  Daughters  of  Rebekah  in  United  States. 

D— Including  19,405  honorary  members  at  large  and  20,486  women  members  and  contributing  widows. 

E— Including  40,000  Daughters  of  Euth  in  the  United  States. 

G— Includes  200,000  in  other  British  possessions. 


cient  Order  of  Foresters  (the  parent  Forestic 
body)  is  naturally  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
only  one-eighth  of  its  membership  being 
found  elsewhere,  j)rincipally  in  Australia, 
Tasmania,  New  Zealand,  the  United  States, 
and  Canada,  with  very  small  totals  in  South 
Africa,  Spain,  Holland,  the  north  coast  of 
South  America,  and  some  of  the  larger  West 
India  islands.  The  Independent  Order  of 
Good  Templars  is  strongest,  of  course,  in 
the  United  States,  but  very  nearly  as  strong 
in  Europe,  and  constitutes  the  only  large 
international  secret  society  excepting  the 
Freemasons  which  is  widely  distributed. 
It  also  has  a  large  following  in  Norway  and 
Sweden,  Denmark,  Germany,  and  Switzer- 
land, Mexico,  India,  tlie  Orient,  Africa, 
Australia,  and   New  Zealand.     The  Inde- 


pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  has  more 
members  than  the  Masonic  fraternity  in  the 
United  States,  but  while  the  latter  finds 
only  one-half  its  total  membership  here, 
96  per  cent,  of  all  the  members  of  this  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows  is  in  this  country.  The 
largest  foreign  membership  of  the  latter  is 
in  Australia,  Tasmania,  and  New  Zealand, 
where  the  total  is  nearly  20,000.  In  Ger- 
many, where  the  Order  is  growing,  the  total 
is  about  3,200;  but  in  France,  Italy,  Den- 
mark, Switzerland,  Holland,  and  Sweden, 
Mexico,  Ha}i;i,  Peru,  Chile,  Jaj)an,  and  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  there  are  very  few  Odd 
Fellows.  Less  than  two-thirds  of  the  Sons 
of  Temperance  are  found  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  less  than  one-third  in 
the  United  Kingdom,  and  about  one-tenth 


UNITED  STATES 


OOM.CANADA 


iR^ji. 


-^c^^^y/^j 


UNITED 
KINGDOM 


AND 


IRELAND. 


GRAPHIC  CHART  SHOWING  THE  RELATIVE  MASONIC  MEMBERSHIP  IN  VARIOUS 

COUNTRIES. 


94 


FREEMASONS:   DISTINGUISHED   AMERICANS 


ill  Australia  aud  New  Zealand.  About  40 
per  cent,  of  the  members  of  the  Grand 
United  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  (the  parent 
English  Order  of  Odd  Fellows)  are  mem- 
bers of  English,  Scotch,  and  Irish  Lodges; 
nearly  50  per  cent,  (negroes)  are  in  the 
United  States;  about  8  per  cent,  in  Aus- 
tralia and  New  Zealand,  and  the  remainder 
widely  scattered,  totals  for  South  Africa, 
India,  West  Indies,  and  Central  and  South 
America  being  very  small.  More  than 
two-thirds  of  the  members  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  Druids  are  found  in  the  land  of  its 
birth,  the  United  Kingdom;  about  one-sixth 
in  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  and  nearly 
as  many  in  the  United  States.  The  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Eechabites  reports  that 
2  per  cent,  of  its  membership  is  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  rest  in  the  United 
Kingdom.  The  total  membership  of  the 
United  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  in  the 
United  States  and  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
is  difficult  to  obtain  ;  but  the  figures  given, 
best  obtainable  estimates  of  representative 
members,  show  that  nearly  80  per  cent,  of 
the  Order  is  in  the  United  States.  The 
B'nai  B'rith,  smallest  of  international  secret 
societies  in  the  list,  numbers  only  about 
38,000  members  altogether,  of  which  35,000 
are  in  the  United  States,  700  in  Asia  Minor 
and  elsewhere  in  the  far  East,  and  300  in 
Africa.  The  surprisingly  large  number  of 
members  of  the  Loyal  Orange  Institution  is 
given  on  the  authority  of  a  prominent  mem- 
ber, high  in  official  rank.  A  total  of  100,- 
000  in  the  United  States  does  not  look  large, 
but  it  is  difficult  to  believe  there  are  383,- 
000  Orangemen  in  British  North  America, 
and  it  is  still  more  unexpected  to  learn 
there  are  as  many  as  760,000  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  and  200,000  in  British  posses- 
sions "not  specified." 

These  eleven  societies  are  seen  to  have 
aggregated  nominally  5,859,023  members  in 
1895-96,  or  (omitting  honorary  and  women 
members  of  some  of  them)  about  5,060,000. 
Allowing  for  those  counted  twice  or  more 
times,  owing  to  membership  in  more  than 


one  organization,  these  eleven  international 
fraternities  number  probably  3,500,000  adult 
male  members,  in  100,000  Lodges,  scattered 
along  the  paths  of  commerce  and  civilization. 
While  the  sun  never  sets  upon  the  Brit- 
ish flag,  it  is  also  true  that  somewhere  east 
of  the  horizon  of  daylight  there  is  always 
a  Masonic  Lodge  at  labor,  and,  in  English- 
speaking  countries  in  particular.  Lodges  of 
other  international  fraternities  at  work  to 
relieve  the  wants  of  the  suffering  and  dis- 
tressed and  to  cultivate  the  ties  of  brotner- 
hood. 

Freemasons :  Distinguished  Ameri- 
cans.— Within  a  few  years  after  the  forma- 
tion of  a  Masonic  Grand  Lodge  at  London, 
in  1717,  many  members  of  the  nobility, 
representatives  of  the  professions  and  other 
learned  men  became  members  of  the  Craft, 
and  between  1725  and  1735  Lodges  of  Eng- 
lish origin  were  established  in  many  of  the 
larger  cities  of  Continental  Europe,  where, 
for  a  few  years,  they  were  composed  almost 
exclusively  of  men  of  rank  and  learning. 
The  growth  of  the  Fraternity,  as  is  well 
known,  has  long  been  along  the  lines  of  uni- 
versal brotherhood,  and  even  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago  its"  membership  included 
distinguished  men  in  various  stations  of  life. 
In  almost  all  European  countries  the  Craft 
to  this  day  continues  to  enjoy  the  patronage 
and  cooperation  of  the  reigning  families  and 
of  the  nobility,  notably  in  Great  Britain, 
Holland,  Denmark,  Norway,  Sweden,  and 
Germany.  The  like  was  true  in  France 
under  the  Bourbons,  in  the  Napoleonic 
regimes,  and  under  the  Eepublic.  Free- 
masonry also  continues  to  enjoy  great  jaop- 
ularity  among  the  followers  of  those  who 
created  a  united  Italy.  In  England  the 
Fraternity  is  presided  over  by  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  in  Sweden  and  Norway  by  King 
Oscar.  In  Denmark  the  Crown  Prince  is 
at  the  head  of  the  Grand  Orient.  The  late 
Emperor  Frederick  was  Grand  Master  of 
German  Freemasons  from  1855  until  his 
death.  The  Emperor  William,  although 
a    Freemason,    has    not    attended    Lodge 


FREEMASONS:    DISTINGUISHED   AMERICANS 


95 


meetings  since  he  became  Emperor.  In 
Austria,  Freemasonry  is  not  patronized  by 
the  aristocracy  or  tlie  reigning  family,  nor 
in  Eussia  or  Belgium;  but  in  Holland  the 
nobility  are  nearly  all  members  of  the  Craft. 

A  list  of  the  names  of  eminent  foreigners 
who  have  been  or  are  Freemasons  would 
include  hundreds  of  other  notables  besides 
Richard  Steele,  Lord  Byron,  Robert  Burns, 
Voltaire,  Montesquieu,  Garibaldi,  Victor 
Emmanuel,  Wellington,  Bliicher,  many  of 
Napoleon's  generals,  and  the  late  King 
Kalakaua  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  and  it 
will  interest  students  of  the  progress  of  the 
Craft  in  the  United  States  to  read  the  names 
of  some  of  the  more  distinguished  Ameri- 
cans who  are  credibly  reported  to  be  or  to 
have  been  Freemasons. 

The  character  of  those  whose  names  follow 
sufficiently  attests  the  extent  to  which  Free- 
masonry has  been  linked  witli  the  careers 
of  prominent  Americans,  notwithstanding 
it  is  not  true,  as  has  often  been  stated, 
that  "  one-half  the  Presidents  of  the  United 
States,"  and  that  "  all  but  four  of  the  sign- 
ers of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  were 
Freemasons."  Following  the  identification 
of  Benjamin  Franklin  with  the  Craft  early 
in  the  last  century  are  the  names  of  Jeremy 
Gridley,  Attorney-General  of  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts,  Grand  Master  of  St.  John's 
Provincial  Grand  Lodge  in  1755;  and  James 
Otis,  Master  for  the  Crown  in  the  Prov- 
ince of  Massachusetts,  who  argued  against 
the  famous  Avrits  of  assistance  in  ITGl,  when 
"  Independence  was  born. "  The  only  sign- 
ers of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  who 
were  Freemasons,  so  far  as  Grand  Lodge 
records  show,  were  Benjamin  Franklin, 
John  Hancock,  William  Hooper,  Philip 
Livingston,  and  Thomas  Xelson,  Jr.,  five  in 
all.  Not  only  Washington,  but  nearly  all 
of  his  generals  were  Freemasons;  such,  at 
least,  was  the  case  with  respect  to  Generals 
Nathanael  Greene,  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
Israel  Putnam,  Francis  Marion,  Baron  Steu- 
ben, Baron  De  Kalb,  and  the  Marquis  de 
Lafayette,  with  whom  should  be  included 


General  Jose[)h  AVarren  and  Paul  Revere. 
Joseph  Brant  (Thayendanegea),  a  Mohawk 
Indian  chief  in  the  British  service  during 
the  lievolutionary  War,  and  Tecumseh, 
chief  of  the  Shawnee  Indians,  an  ally  of  the 
British  in  the  War  of  1812,  who  attempted 
to  incite  the  Indians  against  the  whites,  were 
both  Freemasons.  In  the  period  between 
the  close  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution 
and  the  end  of  the  century  are  found  the 
names  of  F.  A.  Muhlenburg,  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  1789;  William 
R.  Cox,  Secretary  of  the  Senate  in  1796; 
Robert  R.  Livingston  of  New  York;  and 
Peyton  Randolph,  who  was  Grand  Master 
of  Masons  of  Virginia.  Only  eight  Free- 
masons have  been  elected  President  of  the 
L^nited  States,  out  of  twenty-four  men  who 
have  had  that  honor:  Washington,  Jack- 
son, Polk,  Fillmore  (who  recanted  during 
the  anti-Masonic  excitement),  Buchanan, 
Johnson,  Garfield,  and  McKinley.  A  cor- 
responding list  of  Vice-Presidents  includes 
six  names:  Aaron  Burr,  D.  D.  Tompkins, 
Richard  M.  Johnson,  George  M.  Dallas, 
John  C.  Breckenridge,  and  G.  A.  Hobart; 
and  among  defeated  candidates  for  the 
Presidency,  John  Hancock,  John  Marshall, 
Henry  Clay,  Lewis  Cass,  John  Bell,  Stephen 

A.  Douglas,  W.    S.  Hancock,  and  George 

B.  McClellan  were  Freemasons,  as  were 
William  II.  English  and  Arthur  W.  Sewall 
among  defeated  candidates  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency.  Names  of  other  prominent 
xVmericans  who  were  or  are  Freemasons 
are  grouped  as  follows:  Cabinet  Officers: 
James  Guthrie,  Kentucky  (Secretary  of  the 
Treasury);  Jacob  Thompson,  Mississippi 
(Interior);  Howell  Cobb,  Georgia  (Treas- 
ury); Zachariah  Chandler,  ^lichigan  (In- 
terior); Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Pennsylvania 
(AVar);  Nathan  Goff,  West  Virginia  (Navy); 
Hoke  Smith,  Georgia  (Interior);  Benjamin 
F.  Tracy,  New  York  (Navy),  and  General 
R.  A.  Alger,  ^fichigan  (War).  Ministers 
Abroad:  William  Richardson  Davie  to 
France  (Grand  Master  of  Masons  in  North 
Carolina  at  the  close  of  the  last  century); 


96  FIFTH   ORDER   OF   MELCHIZEDEK   AND   EGYPTIAN   SPHINX 

Anson  Burlingame,  Massachusetts,  to  China;  Kane  and  Lieutenants  E.  E.  Peary  and 
MarshallJewell,  Connecticut,  to  Russia;  and  A.  W.  Greely.  Editors:  Samuel  Bowles 
Caleb  Cushing,  Massachusetts,  to  Spain.  (1st),  George  D.  Prentice,  George  W.  Childs, 
Governors  of  States:  Richard  W.  Caswell,  Henry  AY.  Grady,  and  Colonel  John  M. 
Xorth  Carolina;  Edmund  Randolph,  Vir-  Cockerill.  Financiers:  J,  Edward  Sim- 
ginia;  DeWitt  Clinton,  New  York;  Leon  mons,  Henry  W.  Cannon,  John  W.  Mackey, 
Abbett,  New  Jersey;  Lucius  Fairchild,  Wis-  AVashington  E.  Connor,  and  William  Sherer, 
cousin;  Roswell  P.  Flower,  New  York;  Manager  of  the  Clearing  House,  New  York; 
James  B.  Gordon,  Georgia;  J.  M.  Rusk,  Joseph  Smith  and  Brigham  Young  of  the 
Wisconsin;  Thomas  M.  Waller,  Connecti-  Mormon  Church;  General  Albert  Pike  of 
cut;  General  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  Massa-  the  Confederate  Army;  Stephen  Girard, 
chusetts;  J.  B.  McCreary,  Kentucky;  D.  H.  philanthropist;  Josiah  Quincy  (President 
Hastings,  Pennsylvania;  and  George  W.  of  Harvard  College,  1829-40,  during  the 
Peck,  Wisconsin.  United  States  Senators:  anti-Masonic  agitation);  Jacob  Quantrell, 
Rufus  Choate,  Massachusetts;  Thomas  H.  guerrilla  leader  in  the  Civil  War;  Richard 
Benton,  Missouri;  John  Rowan,  Kentucky;  Vaux  of  Philadelphia;  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
General  John  A.  Logan,  Illinois;  Oliver  P.  H.  C.  Potter  of  New  York;  Rt.  Rev.  Wil- 
Morton,  Indiana;  Leland  Stanford,  Call-  liam  Stevens  Perry  of  Iowa;  Rev.  Stephen 
fornia;  Marion  Butler,  North  Carolina;  H.  Tyng;  Rev.  Robert  Collyer,  New  York; 
F.  T.  Du  Bois,  Idaho;  J.  N.  Dolph,  Ore-  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  0.  H.  P.  Belmont, 
gon;  George  F.  Edmunds,  Vermont;  C.  J.  Samuel  M.  Gompers,  Joseph  D.  Weeks, 
Faulkner,  West  Virginia;  Arthur  P.  Gor-  Marshall  P.  AYilder,  John  Brougham,  Ed- 
man,  Maryland;  H.  C.  Hansbrough,  North  win  Forrest,  William  J.  Florence,  and  Ed- 
Dakota;  0.  H.  Piatt,  Connecticut;  M.  S.  win  Booth. 

Quay,  Pennsylvania;  G.  L.  Shoup,  Idaho;  The  fact  that  nearly  all  the  names  are 
Henry  M.  Teller,  Colorado;  John  M.  Thurs-  of  men  who  have  become  distinguished  in 
ton,  Nebraska;  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  In-  politics,  war,  or  the  professions  was  to  have 
diana;  Z.  B.  Vance,  North  Carolina;  John  been  expected.  It  is  less  often  that  one 
J.  Ingalls,  Kansas;  John  T.  Morgan,  Ala-  acquires  a  national  or  international  repu- 
bama;  Charles  T.  Manderson,  Nebraska;  tation  in  commercial,  manufacturing,  or 
John  M.  Palmer,  Illinois;  William  A.  Pef-  agricultural  pursuits,  and  it  is  among  fol- 
fer,  Kansas;  Thomas  C.  Piatt  and  Warner  lowers  of  the  latter,  of  course,  that  by  far 
Miller,  New  York.  Congressmen:  David  the  larger  proportion  of  the  nearly  1,400,000 
Wilmot,  Pennsylvania;  Robert  Toombs,  affiliated  and  unaffiliated  American  Free- 
Georgia;  Thomas  Corwin,  Ohio;  AVilliam  masons  are  to  be  found. 
D.  Kelley,  Pennsylvania;  R.  P.  Bland,  Fifth  Order  of  Melcliizedek  and 
Missouri;  Samuel  J.  Randall,  Pennsyl-  Egji>tiaii  Sphinx. — This  secret  organiza- 
vania;  William  S.  Holman,  Indiana;  James  tioaof  men  and  women,  the  last  known  public 

D.  Richardson,    Tennessee,    and   Jeremiah  appearance  of  which  was  at  Boston  in  1894, 

E.  Simpson,  Kansas.  Judiciary:  John  was  also  known  as  the '' Solar  Spiritual  Pro- 
Marshall,  of  Virginia,  Chief  Justice  of  the  gressive  Order  of  the  Silver  Head  and  Golden 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States;  George  Star."  The  Order  claimed  to  have  been 
M.  Bibb,  Chief  Justice  of  Kentucky;  Rob-  founded  several  thousand  years  "A.  M.," 
ert  Trimble,  Kentucky,  Chief  Justice  of  the  which  may  signify  either  ante-Melchizedek 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States;  and  or  after  Melchizedek. 

John  M.  Harlan,  Kentucky,  Associate  Jus-  Genii  of  Nations,   Knowledges,  and 

tice  of   the  United  States  Supreme  Court.  Religions. — A  mystical  association  which 

Among  Arctic   Explorers:   Dr.  Elisha  K.  seeks  to  conduct  its   neophytes  from  the 


ORDER   OF  AMARANTH 


97 


Seen  to  the  Unseen,  a  sort  of  esoteric  col- 
lege, familiarly  known  to  its  members  as  the 
G.  N".  K.  E.  It  was  organized  at  Boston 
in  1888,  and  contains  three  branches,  the 
Laws  of  the  Ens,  Movens,  and  Om,  "  in- 
cluding the  secrets  connected  therewith." 
The  Hieroiihant  is  reported  to  reside  in  Ap- 
plegate,  Cal. 

Hermetic.  Brothers  of  Luxor. — Said 
to  be  ancient,  mystical,  and  of  Oriental  ori- 
gin. The  head  of  tlie  Exterior  Circle  in 
America  recently  resided  in  Illinois.  It 
teaches  "that  the  divine  scintillations  of 
eternal  spirit  will  each  complete  its  own 
*  cycle  of  necessity.'"  It  is  sometimes  re- 
ferred to  as  "  Isis  Unveiled." 

Intlependent  Iuteri»ational  Order  of 
Owls. — Organized  by  William  Richardson, 
G.  A.  Meacham,  and  others.  Freemasons, 
at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  1890,  a  secret  society 
having  sociability  and  recreation  for  its  ob- 
jects. Only  Freemasons  (Master  Masons) 
are  eligible  to  membership.  The  presiding 
officers  of  subordinate  bodies  are  called  SajDi- 
ent  Screechers,  and  instead  of  Lodges,  places 
of  meeting  are  called  Xests,  the  governing 
body  being  the  Supreme  Nest  of  the  World. 
The  Order  numbers  about  2,500  members. 

Mystic  Order,  Veiled  Prophets  of  the 
Enchanted  Realm. — Founded  by  Hon. 
Thomas  L.  James,  ex-Postmaster-General 
of  the  United  States,  who  was  the  first 
Grand  Monarch  of  the  organization ;  Pro- 
fessors Oren  Eoot  of  Hamilton  College, 
Clinton,  N.  Y.  ;  and  J.  F.  MacGregory  of 
Madison  University,  Madison,  N.  Y. ;  Gen- 
eral William  M.  Nest  and  LeRoy  Fairchild, 
both  of  Hamilton,  N.  Y.;  with  Rt.  Wor. 
George  H.  Raymond,  Grand  Lecturer  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Freemasons  of  the  State 
of  New  York  ;  Lieutenaut  W.  C.  Eaton, 
U.  S.  N. ;  and  many  others,  all  Freemasons, 
as  a  social  and  recreative  secret  society. 
The  Order  announces  that  in  order  to  con- 
serve its  own  interests  and  secure  the  most 
desirable  material  none  but  Master  Masons 
are  made  eligible  for  membership.  One 
of  its  objects  "is  to  benefit  the  symbolic 
7 


(Masonic)  Lodge,"  and  "although  in  many 
cases  the  government  may  be  guided  by 
Masonic  usage  as  the  most  perfect  system 
extant,  it  is  to  be  strictly  understood  that 
in  itself  this  is  not  a  Masonic  Order,  and 
the  degree  is  in  no  sense  a  Masonic  degree." 
It  is  further  announced  tliat,  as  in  addition 
to  the  abstruse  and  comi)licated  teachings 
of  Freemasonry  which  go  to  make  up  a 
part  of  life,  we  also  "  need  sunshine,"  so 
these  Freemasons  have  built  up  a  new 
Order,  Avhich  is  "  Mystic  "  in  its  subtle  les- 
sons, as  in  its  form  ;  "Veiled,"  because  no 
human  heart  stands  all  revealed  ;  and  in 
an  ''Enchanted  Realm,"  because  "duties 
wear"  and  "sorrows  burden  in  any  unen- 
chanted  realm."  The  cornerstones  of  the 
Order,  therefore,  as  may  be  inferred,  are 
sociability  and  goodfellowship.  The  first 
Grotto  was  formed  at  Clinton,  N.  Y.,  wliere 
Hamilton  College  is  situated.  The  organi- 
zation spread  rapidly,  there  being  ten 
Grottos  in  existence  five  years  later,  with 
two  thousand  members.  Like  the  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the 
Mystic  Order,  Veiled  Prophets  of  the  En- 
chanted Realm  establishes  only  one  Grotto, 
or  subordinate  body,  in  any  one  city.  The 
total  number  of  Grottos  in  1897  was  ten, 
the  principal  ones  being  at  New  York, 
Rochester,  and  Buffalo,  and  the  total  mem- 
bership about  2,000.  The  head  covering  of 
a  Veiled  Prophet  is  a  turban  with  a  silver 
tissue  veil,  the  color  of  which  is  selected  by 
each  Grotto,  with  the  exception  that  purple 
veils  are  reserved  for  members  of  the  Su- 
premo Council,  or  governing  body. 

Order  of  Amaranth. — OrigiiuiUy  in- 
tended as  higher  degree  in  the  Order  of  the 
Eastern  Star,  to  form  the  third  of  a  series 
of  which  the  Eastern  Star  degree  and  the 
Queen  of  the  South  should  be  respectively 
the  first  and  second.  x\s  Chapters  of  the  Or- 
der of  the  Eastern  Star  did  not  approve  that 
plan,  the  Amaranth  remains  a  distinct  Order, 
to  which  only  Master  Masons  in  good  stand- 
ing and  women  who  are  members  of  the  Or- 
der of  the  Eastern  Star  are  eligible.     The 


98 


ORDER   OF  MARTINISTS 


ritual  upon  which  its  present  work  is 
fouuded  is  said  to  have  been  written  nearly 
forty  years  ago  by  J.  B.  Taylor  of  Newark, 
N.  J.  This,  Robert  Macoy  of  New  York  is 
said  to  have  amplified  and  improved,  until 
it  had  substantially  the  form  used  to-day. 
The  institution  of  Courts  of  the  Order  of 
Amaranth  began  about  five  or  six  years  ago, 
but  the  growth  of  this  Order  has  not  been 
rapid,  total  membership  to-day  not  exceed- 
ing five  hundred.  The  ritual  is  based  on 
incidents  in  the  lives  of  several  characters 
in  the  New  Testament.  In  the  beginning 
an  attempt  was  made  to  incorporate  a  mu- 
tual assessment  beneficiary  feature,  but  it 
was  abandoned  soon  after.  The  objects  are 
largely  benevolent  and  social.  (See  Order 
of  the  Eastern  Star.) 

Order  of  Martinists. — One  -of  the  nu- 
merous Masonic  rites  which  made  its 
appearance  in  France  about  the  middle  of 
the  last  century.  It  is  also  called  the  Eite 
of  Martinism.  It  appeared  at  Lyons  in 
1767,  with  ten  degrees,  fathered  by  Louis 
Claude  de  St.  Martin,  a  disciple  of  Martinez 
Paschalis.  The  latter's  rite  of  nine  degrees 
formed  the  basis  of  the  ''rectified  rite"  of 
St.  Martin,  who  was  a  deeply  religious  man, 
a  student  of  Eosicrucianism,  of  Sweden- 
borg,  and  of  the  teachings  of  the  Kabbalists 
and  hermetic  doctors  of  the  middle  ages. 
His  rite  was  naturally  filled  with  what  has 
been  described  as  "reveries  of  the  mystics." 
The  Order  was  jiopular  for  a  time,  and 
spread  into  Oermany  and  Eussia,  where  it 
had  a  brief  career.  The  only  excuse  for 
this  reference  is  the  statement  by  S.  0. 
Gould,  in  his  "  Arcane  Fraternities,"  Man- 
chester, N.  H.,  1896,  that  the  Order,  ''re- 
duced to  three  essential  and  four  accessory 
degrees,"  was  introduced  into  America  in 
1887,  where  it  is  "being  conferred  by  estab- 
lished and  recognized  Masonic  authorities." 
He  adds  that  its  chief  officer  for  the  United 
States  "resides  in  Missouri,"  and  that  its 
disciples  "  are  residents  of  more  or  less  of 
the  States." 

Order  of  the  S.  E.  K. — Composed  of 


students  of  Esotericism,  Egyptology,  and 
Symbolism.  Membership  is  limited.  The 
Order  is  known  to  exist  in  Massachusetts. 
Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. — A  chari- 
table and  benevolent  society  to  which  only 
Master  Masons,  their  wives,  widows,  sisters,  -r^cu^ 
and  daughters  are  eligible.  Its  teachings 
are  founded  on  the  Holy  Bible.  Chapters  of 
the  Order  exist  in  nearly  all/  if  not  quite 
all,  of  the  States  of  the  Union,  in  the  Prov- 
ince of  Ontario  and  elsewhere  in  the  Do- 
minion of  Canada,  Scotland,  and  at  one 
time  in  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  in 
South  America.  Its  total  membership  is 
nearly  200,000,  about  160,000  in  the 
United  States,  and  very  small  elsewhere, 
the  majority  being  women.  Its  symbolism 
centres  about  the  five-pointed  star  and  the 
pentagon,  or  signet  of  Solomon.  It  is  re- 
lated that,  originally,  the  first  point  of  the 
star  suggested  Obedience;  the  second.  At- 
tachment; and  so  on  ;  but  the  modern  ritual 
teaches  that  the  first  point  represents  the 
binding  force  of  a  vow,  illustrated  by 
Jephthah's  daughter ;  the  second,  devotion 
to  religious  principles,  as  exemplified  in  the 
character  of  Euth  ;  the  third,  fidelity  to 
kindred  and  friends,  as  personified  by  Es- 
ther ;  the  fourth,  faith  in  the  power  and 
merits  of  a  Eedeemer,  as  manifested  by 
Martha;  and  the  fifth.  Charity,  illustrated  by 
Electa.  There  is  also  a  symbolism  expressed 
through  the  signet,  and  there  are  other 
emblems,  shown  within  the  star.  The  so- 
ciety has  the  customary  sign  language  found 
in  kindred  organizations.  It  is  proper  to 
explain  that  this  Order  is  not  Freemasonry, 
and  is  in  no  way  connected  with  it.  It  was 
created  by  Freemasons,  and  only  members 
of  the  Masonic  Fraternity  and  women  rela- 
tives of  the  latter  may  join  it.  It  affords  no 
especial  means  by  which  women  members 
may  prove  themselves  relatives  of  Free- 
masons, except  to  Freemasons  who  are 
members  of  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 
The  Order  is  quite  popular  in  the  West, 
where  almost  every  city  and  town  has  one 
or  more  Chapters.     Its  membership  is  also 


ORDER   OF  THE   EASTERN   STAR 


99 


largo  at  the  East  and  is  growing.  In  mauy 
instances,  in  addition  to  performing  its 
function,  that  of  inculcating  various  moral 
and  religious  principles,  it  operates  in 
practice  as  a  social  club,  or  rallying  point 
for  women  members  of  families  of  Free- 
masons, their  husbands,  and,  if  also  Free- 
masons, their  brothers  and  fathers.  Not 
many  yours  ago  it  was  generally  supposed 
the  Order  was  originated  in  1850  or  1851  by 
Robert  Morris,  the  well-known  poet  and 
Freemason.  Through  the  courtesy  of  Alonzo 
J.  Burton  of  New  York,  the  writer  has 
been  shown  a  printed  ritual  of  an  '^  Ancient 
and  Honorable  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,'' 
together  with  an  account  of  its  proceedings 
at  a  session  in  Boston,  Mass.,  May  18, 
1793,  which  explains  that  the  Society  per- 
formed a  most  cflBcient  work  of  charity 
during  the  wars  of  tlic  Revolution  and  1812. 
The  idea  of  what  has  been  called  an  Adop- 
tive or  an  Androgenous  rite  goes  back,  of 
course,  even  farther  tlian  that.  A  reference 
to  the  writings  of  Mackey,  Oliver,  and  oth- 
ers, indicates  that  shortly  after  the  in- 
troduction of  Freemasonry  from  England 
to  the  Continent  of  Europe  (one  account 
says  as  early  as  1830),  so-called  ''Masonic  " 
Lodges  for  women  made  their  appearance. 
To  the  mere  statement  of  Mackey  that  there 
is  a  trace  of  these  as  early  as  1649,  nothing 
can  be  added.  But  in  1843  we  find  a 
French  society  of  this  variety,  entitled 
"Ordre  des  Felicitaires ; "  in  1847,  the 
*' Order  of  Wood  Cutters;"  and,  later,  a 
number  of  others.  These  were  formed  in 
Germany,  Poland,  Russia,  and,  notably,  in 
Franco,  during  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, where,  for  the  next  twenty-five  years, 
they  flourished  and  were  popular  among  the 
nobility  and  otliers  in  the  higher  ranks  of 
society.  "  Lodges  of  Adoption  "  appeared  in 
France  in  1750,  to  which  only  Master  Masons 
and  women  relatives  wore  eligible,  and  were 
so  called  from  their  being  taken  under  the 
nominal  protection  of  or  being  ''  adopted  " 
by  regular  Masonic  Lodges.  But  there  was 
no  further  connection  than    that   between 


them  and  the  Freemasonry  of  one  hundred 
and  forty  years  ago,  although  rather  more 
than  that  which  exists  between  the  Order  of 
the  Eastern  Star  and  Freemasonry  to-day, 
for  there  is  no  such  thing  in  the  United 
States  as  even  an  "  adoption  ''  of  an  Eastern 
Star  Chapter  by  a  Masonic  Lodge,  or  even 
the  recognition  of  the  existence  of  a  body 
known  as  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star  by 
a  Masonic  Grand  Body.  The  rituals  of  the 
Ordre  des  Felicitaires,  the  Wood  Cutters, 
and  others  of  like  character,  are  quite  dis- 
similar from  Masonic  rituals,  tending  rather 
to  poetic,  scenic  effects,  and  dramatic  per- 
formances calculated  to  impress  the  (men 
and  women)  novitiates  who  invariably  took 
part  in  them  Avith  the  moral  lessons  which 
it  was  sought  to  inculcate.  Some  of  these 
relatively  ancient,  appendant  orders  for 
Freemasons  and  women  relatives  of  Free- 
masons exist  on  the  European  Continent 
to-day,  though  they  have  long  ceased  to  at- 
tract the  number  of  candidates  or  class  of 
members  for  which  they  were  formerly 
noted. 

Freemasonry  was  introduced  into  the 
American  colonies  nearly  one  hundred  and 
seventy  years  ago,  and  in  the  latter  half  of 
the  last  century  (population  of  the  country 
and  the  lack  of  facilities  for  communication 
considered),  had  an  extensive  and,  as  his- 
tory informs  us,  distinguished  membershij). 
There  are  fragmentary  printed  memoranda 
indicating  that  some  of  the  continental 
degrees  conferred  in  "  Lodges  of  Adoption," 
or  other  men  and  women's  Orders  to  which 
only  Freemasons  and  women  relatives  were 
eligible,  were  introduced  into  this  country 
as  early  as  1778.  Whether  any  of  these 
took  the  form  of  an  Order  of  the  Eastern 
Star,  w^hich  the  published  report  referred 
to,  may  never  be  known.  One  may  only 
admit  its  likelihood.  With  the  brief  state- 
ment in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Ancient  and 
Honorable  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  re- 
published in  New  York  in  1850,  that  that 
society  was  conspicuous  for  deeds  of  charity 
in   the  War  of  the  Revolution  and  in  the 


100 


ORDER   OF   THE   EASTERN   STAR 


War  of  1812,  one  is  forced  to  rest  content, 
until  Kobert  Morris  invented  and  costumed 
his  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star.  Morris  was 
born  at  Boston  in  1818,  was  made  a  Free- 
mason at  Oxford,  Miss.,  March  5,  1846,  and 
in  1847,  with  his  wife,  received  the  so-called 
*'side^'  or  unsystematized  Masonic  degree, 
the  "Heroine  of  Jericho.''  This  is  said  to 
have  greatly  interested  him,  and  in  Febru- 
ary, 1850,  when  confined  to  his  bed  with 
rheumatism,  he  is  described  as  having  de- 
vised the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star.  He 
writes  of  his  having  "hesitated  for  a 
theme  "  on  which  to  build  such  an  Order, 
having  "  dallied  over  a  name  "  and  pondered 
long  over  the  selection  of  the  five-pointed 
star  and  jjentagon  as  its  chief  emblems. 
This  would  indicate  originality  on  his  part, 
and  suggests  that  his  calling  it  the  Order  of 
the  Eastern  Star  was  merely  a  coincidence. 
The  writer  is  unable  to  learn  that  Morris 
ever  heard  of  the  Eastern  Star  of  1793. 
This,  then,  is  the  slender  thread  upon 
which  hangs  the  claim  of  antiquity  for  the 
modern  Order.  Morris  wanted  this  society 
to  become  a  branch  of  Freemasonry,  so  as 
to  permit  women  members  to  prove  them- 
selves relatives  of  Freemasons  to  members 
of  the  Masonic  Fraternity  anywhere,  and  to 
enable  them  to  share  in  the  charitable  work 
of  that  Fraternity.  His  plan  excited  great 
opposition,  and  failed.  In  1853  he  con- 
ferred the  Order  on  a  number  of  acquaint- 
ances, and  in  1855  instituted  Constellation 
No.  1,  Purity,  at  Lodge,  Fulton  County, 
Kentucky.  The  headquarters  were  at  Lex- 
ington, Ky.,  and  Morris,  of  course,  was  the 
Grand  Luminary,  About  two  hundred 
Constellations  were  formed  throughout  the 
United  States,  one  being  in  New  York  city, 
somewhere  on  Spring  Street.  This  arrange- 
ment of  the  Eastern  Star  ritual  met  with 
disfavor  from  Freemasons,  and  as  the 
ceremony  was  "too  complicated,"  Morris 
revised  it  in  1859,  calling  the  bodies  "  Fam- 
ilies of  the  Eastern  Star."  A  number  of 
Families  Avere  instituted,  but  the  revised 
ritual  evidently  did  not  possess  elements  of 


success.  When  Morris  sailed  for  the  Holy 
Land,  in  1866,  he  turned  over  all  his  rights 
to  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star  to  Robert 
Macoy  of  New  York.  In  1866  a  church 
stood  at  the  corner  of  Grand  and  Crosby 
Streets,  in  New  York,  the  property  of  the 
Freemasons  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
in  December  of  that  year  a  fair  was  held 
there  for  the  benefit  of  the  proposed  Masonic 
Hall  and  Home.  At  its  conclusion  the 
ladies  who  had  presided  over  the  tables  were 
loath  to  break  their  i^leasant  associations, 
and  a  ball  was  given  a  month  or  two  later, 
and  a  thousand  dollars  more  realized  for  the 
fund.  On  January,  17,  1867,  eighteen  of 
the  ladies  organized  a  society  and  called  it 
the  Alpha  Chapter  of  the  Order  of  the 
Eastern  Star.  They  met  occasionally  and 
performed  works  of  charity,  but,  lacking  a 
ritual,  the  society  did  not  prosper.  About 
a  year  later  one  of  the  ladies  met  Robert 
Macoy,  an  eminent  Freemason,  and  told 
him  that  if  the  society  had  a  ritual  she 
thought  it  would  be  successful.  Mr.  Macoy 
set  to  work  rearranging  the  old  ritual,  and 
on  October  15,  1868,  in  the  presence  of  the 
eighteen  ladies  referred  to,  conferred  the 
degree,  with  his  own  wife  as  the  candidate. 
Macoy  simplified  the  work  of  the  Constel- 
lations and  amplified  that  of  the  Families 
by  a  dramatic  rearrangement  which  was  at 
once  successful.  From  that  time  the  Order 
began  to  increase,  and  New  York  State 
to-day  has  125  Chapters  and  about  10,000 
members.  The  Grand  Chapter  of  New 
York  was  organized  November  3,  1870. 

In  1866  Albert  Pike  printed^  a  version 
of  the  French  ritual  of  an  Order  of  the 
Eastern  Star  of  a  century  ago,  using  the 
forms  intact,  but  augmenting  the  parts. 
The  ritual  is  composed  of  three  degrees, 
Apprentice,  Companion,  and  Mistress.  The 
work  is  now  exceedingly  scarce.  The  de- 
grees are  so  complicated  that  it  would  be 
impracticable  for  the  ordinary  assembly  to 
work  them,  and  there  is  no  record  that  they 
were  ever  exemplified  in  this  country. 
Whether  either  Morris  or  Macov  ever  saw 


ORDER   OF   THE   PALLADIUM 


101 


this  work  or  the  original  is  not  known. 
Macoy,  as  Supreme  Head  of  the  Order, 
began  chartering  chapters  and  issuing  new 
warrants  to  such  Families  as  existed,  and 
1869,  1870,  1871,  and  1872  witnessed  the 
extension  of  the  Order  into  nearly  every 
State  in  the  Union,  Cuba,  Mexico,  Central 
and  South  America,  superseding  a  species 
of  ** Adoptive  Freemasonry'^  which  had 
grown  up  in  Michigan  and  in  New  York  in 
1867  and  1868.  AVhat  was  called  the 
Supreme  Council  of  the  Adoptive  Rite  of 
the  World  was  instituted  at  New  York 
city,  June  14,  1873,  at  a  time  when  a 
meeting  of  the  General  Grand  Council  of 
Royal  and  Select  Masters  (American  Rite 
of  Freemasonry)  was  held  at  that  city. 
Morris  presided,  and  Macoy  was  elected 
Supreme  Patron  ;  Mrs,  Frances  E.  Johnson, 
Supreme  Matron  ;  Andrew  Cassard,  Asso- 
ciate Supreme  Patron  ;  Laura  L.  Burton, 
Deputy  Supreme  Matron;  Robert  Morris, 
Supreme  Recorder ;  William  A.  Prall,  Su- 
preme Treasurer ;  and  P.  M.  Savary, 
Supreme  Inspector.  This  was  not  long- 
lived.  The  General  Grand  Chapter  of  the 
Order  was  formed  in  1876  at  Chicago,  and 
has  jurisdiction  over  the  entire  Order,  ex- 
cept in  Vermont,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
and  New  Jersey,  reporting  27  Grand  Chap- 
ters in  all.  In  187-4  Alonzo  J.  Burton  of 
New  York  originated  a  floral  ceremony  to 
supplement  the  general  work  of  the  Soci- 
ety, which  is  in  quite  general  use.  At  the 
session  of  the  Grand  Chapter,  held  in  New 
York  city,  June,  1895,  the  Order  of  the 
Sisterhood  was  exemplified  by  a  selected 
corps  from  Utica,  N.  Y.,  and  the  degree 
was  adopted  as  an  auxiliary.  It  was  com- 
posed in  the  latter  part  of  1878,  and  is 
founded  on  the  Biblical  account  of  Jacob's 
ladder  and  a  history  of  the  life  of  Mary 
the  mother  of  the  Saviour.  (See  Order  of 
Amaranth.) 

Order  of  the  Majji. — A  mystical  Chi- 
cago Society,  the  practices  and  preachings 
of  which  are  ''open  to  all  who  can  appre- 
ciate them,''  but  which  is  in  reality  a  secret 


Order  in  that  its  teachings  are  imparted  by 
means  of  "  secret  machinery."  Its  so-called 
"  religion  "  is  referred  to  as  that  of  "  the 
stars."  No  one  but  members  profess  to 
know  the  cause  of  its  existence  or  its 
underlying  principles. 

Order  of  the  Mystic  Star. — Founded 
about  1872  or  1873,  at  New  York  city,  by 
A.  J.  Duganne  and  others.  It  was  designed 
to  rival  the  then  rapidly  growing  Order  of 
the  Eastern  Star,  and,  like  it,  was  open 
only  to  Master  Masons,  their  wives,  widows, 
mothers,  daughters,  and  sisters.  It  did  not 
live  long. 

Order  of  the  Oinali  Laiij^uage. — 
Founded  at  Washington,  D.  C;  year  not 
given.  It  describes  the  original  universal 
language,  the  root,  as  the  Omah  tongue, 
the  primal  language  "  which  allied  man  to 
Yahveh,"  and  alleges  tliat  through  confu- 
sion of  sounds  much  that  was  known  to  man 
is  lost ;  that  the  Omah  language  revealed  to 
man  the  secrets  of  material  life  ;  and  tliat 
''this  language  now'  upon  this  planet  has 
once  more  reached  the  identical  point  from 
which  it  was  diffused,"  so  that  "  men  daily 
pronounce  the  magic  words,  having  no  con- 
ception of  their  occult  power  and  meaning." 
S.  C.  Gould,  in  his  "Resume  Arcane  Asso- 
ciations," adds  that  "a word  to  the  wise  is 
sufficient;"  from  which  some  may  infer 
that  the  Order  thinks  it  has  much  it  could 
teach,  even  to  the  most  erudite  students  of 
high  grade  Masonry. 

Order  of  the  Palladium.— Said  by  S.  C. 
Gould,  in  his  "Resume  of  Arcane  Associa- 
tions," to  have  been  "instituted  in  1730," 
and  "introduced  into  the  United  States  at 
Charleston,  S.  C,"  where  it  remained  dor- 
mant until  1884,  when  it  was  revived  in 
1886,  as  the  new  and  reformed  Palladium, 
"  to  impart  new  force  to  the  traditions  of 
high  grade  Masonry."  It  admits  men  and 
women,  the  former  to  the  grades  of  Adelphos 
and  Companion  of  Ulysses,  and  the  latter  to 
that  of  Penelope.  As  its  Councils  are  "  held 
incognito,"  its  proceedings  never  printed, 
and  its  membership  is  greatly   restricted. 


102 


ORDER  OF  THE  S.  S.  S.  AND  BROTHERHOOD  OF  THE  Z.  Z.  R.  R.  Z.  Z. 


little  is  kuown  of  it  by  others  than  mem- 
bers. It  publishes  the  "Free  and  Eegen- 
erated  Palladium,*'  by  Avhicli  title  it  is  now 
known. 

Order  of  the  S.  S.  S.  and  Biotlier- 
liood  of  the  Z.  Z.  R.  R.  Z.  Z.— Head- 
quarters ''for  this  country"  at  Boston. 
Its  motto  is:  *'A11  things  come  from 
within."  Its  seal  is  a  circle,  formed  of 
three  cobras  "  separated  by  three  swastikas, 
encircling  two  interlaced  triangles,"  which, 
in  turn,  enclose  "the  crux  ansata,"  from 
which  its  theosophic  temperament  and 
mystical  tendencies  may  be  inferred.  It 
declares  that  Love  with  Wisdom  is  the 
secret  of  Life,  and  that  the  Torch  of  Life 
is  fed  by  the  Oil  of  Love.  Among  its  relics 
is  said  to  be  a  "  large  cube  of  cream-white 
stone,"  of  great  antiquity,  j^resented  by  "  a 
Mexican  chief."     Membership  is  small. 

Order  of  the  Siifis. — Philosophical  and 
theosophical,  based  on  the  Unitarian  doc- 
trines of  the  Persians.  The  word  Sufi 
refers  to  the  Arabic  word  Suf,  wool,  and 
alludes  to  the  dress  of  the  Dervishes  who 
originally  taught  the  princij)les  the  Order 
seeks  to  elucidate,  which  are  alleged  to 
reconcile  jihilosophy  with  revealed  religion 
by  means  of  mystical  interpretations  of  doc- 
trine. The  candidate  for  its  mysteries 
represents  a  traveler  in  search  of  Truth, 
"a  hidden  treasure,"  and  passes  through 
eight  stages  or  grades.  Worship,  Love,  Se- 
clusion, Knowledge,  Ecstasy,  Truth,  Union, 
and  Extinction,  or  absorption  into  the 
Light.  S.  C.  Gould,  of  Manchester,  N.  H., 
states  that  representatives  of  the  Order  re- 
side in  New  York  and  Missouri. 

Order  of  the  White  Shrine  of  Jerusa- 
lem.— Founded  at  Chicago  a  few  years  ago 
by  Charles  D.  Magee,  Supreme  Chancellor. 
Men  and  women  are  eligible  to  member- 
ship. 

Queen  of  the  South. — See  Order  of 
Amaranth. 

Rite  of  Swedenborg-. — A  mystical, 
theosophical  Masonic  rite,  consisting  of  six 
degrees,  which  grew  out  of  the  Rite  of  the 


Illuminati  (Avignon,  1760),  into  which 
the  reveries  of  both  Boehme  (founder  of 
the  latter)  and  of  Swedenborg  (who  was 
not  a  Freemason)  were  incorporated.  It 
has  been  presumed  to  have  long  been  ex- 
tinct outside  of  a  few  Swedish  Lodges ;  but 
S.  C.  Gould,  in  "Arcane  Fraternities,"  Man- 
chester, N.  H.,1896,  says  that  the  Eite  flour- 
ished in  a  Lodge  in  New  York  from  1859 
until  1863,  and  that  it  is  still  practised 
as  a  distinct  rite  in  the  Dominion  of 
Canada. 

Society  of  Eleusis. — Commemorative  of 
its  prototype,  it  is  founded  on  a  portion  of 
the  ceremonies  of  the  latter,  and  occasion- 
ally holds  a  grand  festival  with  appropriate 
exercises.  It  dates  its  birth  1356  B.C.,  and 
has  for  its  motto.  Quod  hoc  sibi  vuU  f  Com- 
mune bonum.  Its  duodecennial  celebration 
was  held  at  Boston  in  1884. 

Society  of  the  Illuminati. — A  seced- 
ing Mormon,  religious  secret  society  for 
men,  with  which  was  associated  another 
organization,  The  Covenant,  a  secret  so- 
ciety for  Mormon  men  and  women,  which 
existed  on  Beaver  Island,  in  Northern  Lake 
Michigan,  off  the  Grand  Traverse  regions, 
between  1850  and  1856.  When  the  Mor- 
mons, under  Brigham  Young,  left  Council 
Bluffs  for  Utah,  James  J.  Strang,  at  the 
head  of  a  party  of  seceders  (New  York 
"  Sun "  Grand  Rapids  correspondence, 
January  21,  1895,  published  January  27), 
journeyed  to  Beaver  Island,  founded  the 
village  of  St.  James,  "  naming  it  after  him- 
self," erected  a  tabernacle,  and,  with  the 
assistance  of  "  a  dozen  young  men  as  ajaos- 
tles,"  conducted  religious  services.  By 
1850  St.  James  had  a  population  of  about 
600.  In  1850  Strang  had  a  revelation  from 
"  an  angel  of  the  Lord,"  directing  him  to  be 
crowned  "King  of  the  Mormons,"  and  en- 
joining upon  him  and  his  jieojile  the  isractice 
of  polygamy.  He  was  accordingly  crowned 
king  in  what  might  be  described  as  "ample 
form,"  and  took  unto  himself  a  number 
of  wives.  The  account  referred  to  adds 
that    "in   the   Church"   were   two    secret 


SOVEREIGN  COLLEGE  OF  ALLIED  MASONIC  AND  CHRISTIAN  DEGREES  FOR  AMERICA        103 


societies,  one  called  tlie  Society  of  the 
Illuminati,  for  men  only,  and  the  other  for 
both  men  and  women,  called  "  The  Cove- 
nant," from  which  it  is  easy  to  perceive  he 
paralleled  the  work  of  Young,  Kimball, 
Hyde,  Pratt,  and  other  Mormon  leaders, 
then  in  Utah,  where  the  secret  "work''  of 
the  Mormon  Cluirch  centred  largely  in  the 
endowment  house  ceremonials.  (Sec  Free- 
masonry among  the  Mormons.)  It  is  fur- 
ther explained  that  "in  The  Covenant 
iron-clad  oaths  were  taken  to  defend  tlie 
Church,  even  to  the  shedding  of  blood,  and 
to  stand  by  one  another  through  thick  and 
thin."  The  "secret  obligations  and  work 
of  the  Illuminati  were  never  made  i)ublic." 
Strang's  career  was  brief.  In  1856  he 
was  shot  by  one  of  his  followers  who  had 
been  iiublicly  whipped,  by  order  of  the 
"king"  for  refusing  to  compel  his  wife  to 
wear  "  bloomers "  in  compliance  with  an 
"edict"  that  all  women  in  the  kingdom 
should  dress  in  that  manner.  Learning  of 
Strang's  death,  neighboring  fishermen  in- 
vaded the  island,  razed  the  tabernacle,  and 
dispersed  the  piratical  Mormon  population, 
■who  fled  to  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  and  else- 
where. 

Sovereign  College  of  Allied  Masonic 
and  Christian  Degrees  for  America. — A 
"Grand  body,"  founded  by  Hartley  Car- 
michacl,  33°,  William  Eyan,  33%  and  C.  A. 
Xesbitt,  33°,  at  Eic]imond,Yirginia,in  1890, 
having  rituals  of  some  so-Citlled  "side"  or 
unsystematized  degrees,  which  are  conferred 
only  upon  Freemasons,  and  several  aca- 
demic degrees  which  are  conferred  upon 
distinguished  Freemasons,  hoyioris  causa, 
or  to  members  of  the  Fraternity  "who  have 
passed  satisfactory  examinations  and  jxiid 
the  necessary  fees."  Its  highest  academic 
degree  is  entitled  "Doctor  of  Universal 
Masonry,"  and  only  five  Freemasons  are 
said  to  have  received  it — Josiah  H.  Drum- 
mond,  of  Maine,  Past  Most  Puissant  Sover- 
eign Grand  Commander  of  the  Ancient  and 
Accepted  Scottish  Rite  for  the  Nortiiern 
Masonic  Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States 


of  America ;  William  James  Hughan,  the 
well-known  English  Masonic  historian  ;  D. 
Murray  Lyon,  the  Scottish  Masonic  his- 
torian ;  the  Earl  of  Euston  ;  and  Prince 
Demetrius  Rhodocanakis  of  Greece.  The 
Sovereign  College  is  in  amity  with  the 
Royal  Ark  Council  of  England,  the  Grand 
Conclave  of  Secret  Monitors  for  Great 
Britain,  the  Colonies  and  Dependencies  of 
the  British  Crown,  and  the  Grand  Council 
of  the  Allied  Masonic  Degrees  for  England, 
Wales,  and  the  Colonies  and  Dependencies 
of  the  British  Crown,  at  which  the  Earl  of 
Euston  is  the  representative  of  the  Sovereign 
College  in  America.  The  allied  Masonic 
and  Christian  degrees  conferred  by  the  Sov- 
ereign College  are  the  Ark  Planner,  cor- 
responding to  the  English  Royal  Ark  Mari- 
ner ;  Secret  Monitor,  Babylonish  Pass,  Great 
Higii  Priest,  St.  Lawrence  the  Martyr, 
Tylers  of  Solomon,  Knight  of  Constanti- 
nople, Holy  and  Tdesscd  Order  of  Wisdom, 
and  Trinitarian  Knight  of  St.  John -of  Pat- 
mos.  In  recently  published  announcements 
the  Babylonish  Pass  and  Great  High  Priest- 
hood are  omitted.  The  Ark  Mariner  degree 
is  popular  in  England,  where  the  candidate 
must  have  taken  the  Mark  Master  Mason 
degree  in  order  to  be  eligible  to  receive  it. 
It  is  conferred  upon  Master  Masons  here. 
The  language  of  the  degi-ee  is  peculiar.  The 
Su]>reme  body  is  called  a  "  Grand  Ark  ;  " 
subordinate  bodies  are  "Vessels."  All  its 
references  are  nautical,  and  allude  to  the 
Deluge  and  the  Ark  of  Noah.  Members 
profess  to  be  followers  of  Noah,  and  there- 
fore call  themselves  Noachidae,  or  Sous  of 
Noah.  The  degree,  which  was  invented  in 
England  about  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
sheds  no  light  upon  Freemasonry.  Tlie 
degree  of  Secret  Monitor,  conferred  upon 
Ark  Mariners,  is  thought  to  have  been  de- 
rived from  a  Masonic  society  which  was 
formed  in  Holland,  about  1778,  to  teach 
the  meaning  of  Brotherly  Love.  The  latter 
was  called  the  Order  of  David  and  Jonathan, 
and  inculcated  unfaltering  friendship  even 
in  the  presence  of  the  most  appalling  danger. 


104 


TALL  CEDARS  OF  LEBANON 


The  degrees  of  Tylers  of  Solomon,  St.  Law- 
rence the  Martyr,  and  Knight  of  Constanti- 
nople are  conferred  only  upon  those  who  have 
taken  the  two  preceding  degrees,  and  that 
last  named  upon  those  only  who  are  willing  to 
repeat  and  sign  the  Apostles'  Creed.  Mackey 
says  of  the  degree  of  Knight  of  Constanti- 
nople, that  it  has  no  connection  with  Free- 
masonry, teaches  an  excellent  lesson  in  hu- 
mility, and  that  it  was  probably  instituted 
by  some  Masonic  lecturer.  The  Babylonish 
Pass  used  to  be  conferred  in  Scotland  in 
Eoyal  Arch  Chapters.  It  jjossesses  some- 
thing in  common  with  the  Masonic  Order 
of  the  Red  Cross  conferred  in  Commanderies 
of  Knights  Templars.  It  is  thought  that  the 
Holy  and  Blessed  Order  of  Wisdom  is  allied 
to  one  of  a  similar  name  referred  to  under 
the  sketch  of  the  Order  of  Knights  of  the 
Red  Cross  of  Rome  and  Constantine  (which 
see),  particularly  as  the  candidate  must 
be  either  a  Knight  Templar  or  a  thirty- 
second  degree  Freemason  of  the  Ancient 
and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite.  The  Trinita- 
rian Degree  of  Knight  of  St.  John  of  Pat- 
mos  is  conferred  only  upon  Freemasons  of 
mark  and  learning  who  have  received  the 
thirty-second  degree  of  the  Ancient  and  Ac- 
cepted Scottish  Rite.  It  is  Christian  and 
Trinitarian,  and  its  possessors  declare  it 
equivalent  to  a  patent  of  Masonic  nobility. 
The  ritual  refers  to  the  banishment  of  St. 
John.  It  is  believed  to  be  allied  to  the 
Order  of  Knights  of  St.  John  the  Evan- 
gelist, conferred  in  Grand  Councils  of 
Knights  of  the  Red  Cross  of  Rome  and 
Constantine.  The  Sovereign  College  is  still 
situated  at  Richmond,  Va.,  and  its  three 
founders  continue  among  its  principal  of- 
ficers. Total  allied  membership  about 
2,100,  of  whom  about  560  are  in  the  United 
States. 

Tall  Cedars  of  Lebanon. — The  name 
of  a  so-called  Masonic  '^  side  degree."  The 
ceremony  is  said  to  be  amusing.  The  de- 
gree has  no  oflBcial  standing,  and  there  is 
no  regular  or  authorized  method  of  confer- 
ring it,  beyond   the  fact  that  it  has  been 


handed  down  to  be  passed  along.  Its  finale 
is  sometimes  a  banquet. 

Temple  of  Isis. — Situated  at  Chicago. 
Lectures  are  delivered  before  its  members 
monthly,  on  such  subjects  as  the  Mysteries, 
the  Sphinx,  the  Pyramids,  and  Hermetic 
Teachings.  Its  symbol  is  a  four-winged 
kneph  surrounded  by  a  cobra.  Dr.  W.  P. 
Phelon  is  named  as  the  founder  of  the  So- 
ciety, in  which  much  is  made  of  the  Tetra- 
grammaton,  or  combination  of  Hebrew  let- 
ters representing  the  great  and  sacred  name 
of  Deity. 

Tlieosopliical  Society.  —  (Contributed 
by  Mrs.  Annie  Besant.)  The  Theosophical 
Society  is  an  international  brotherhood,  the 
formation  of  which  was  suggested  on  Sep- 
tember 7,  1875,  in  the  rooms  of  Madame 
H.  P.  Blavatsky,  46  Irving  Place,  New  York 
city,  U.  S.  A.,  and  the  definite  organization 
of  which  was  completed  on  November  17th 
of  the  same  year.  On  that  day  the  duly 
elected  President,  Colonel  Henr}^  Steele 
Olcott,  delivered  the  inaugural  address,  and 
the  official  year  of  the  Society  is  reckoned 
from  November  17,  1875.  The  first  officers 
have  an  historical  interest.  President,  Henry 
Steele  Olcott;  Vice-Presidents,  Dr.  S.  Pan- 
coast  and  G.  H.  Felt;  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary, Helena  Petrovna  Blavatsky;  Record- 
ing Secretary,  John  Storer  Cobb;  Treasurer, 
H.  J.  Newton ;  Librarian,  Charles  Sotheran ; 
Councillors,  Rev.  J.  H.  Wiggin,  R.  B.  West- 
brook,  Emma  Hardinge  Britten,  Dr.  C.  E. 
Simmons,  H.  D.  Monachesi;  Counsel  to  the 
Society,  W.  Q.  Judge.  Of  all  these,  but 
one  remains  to-day,  the  President-Founder, 
H.  S.  Olcott,  who,  after  twenty-two  years 
of  loyal  service  as  President,  remains  still  at 
the  head  of  the  Society,  the  symbol  of  its 
unity  and  the  custodian  of  its  unbroken  tra- 
ditions. The  rest  are  all  swept  away  by  death 
or  desertion,  the  death  of  H.  P.  Blavatsky, 
the  co-founder,  having  occurred  in  1891. 

Organization. — The  organization  of  the 
Society  is  copied  from  that  of  the  United 
States,  so  far  as  federal  and  local  govern- 
ments are  concerned.     It  has  a  president. 


THEOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 


105 


elected  for  a  term  of  seven  years  (the  Presi- 
dent-Founder holds  his  office  for  life,  the 
seven  years'  term  applying  only  to  his  suc- 
cessors). He  appoints  a  vice-president,  but 
the  appointment  must  be  ratified  by  the  So- 
ciety; and  he  appoints  a  recording  secretary 
and  treasurer.  There  are  no  other  officers 
belonging  to  the  Society  as  a  whole.  The 
general  control  and  administration  of  the 
Society  is  vested  in  a  General  Council,  con- 
sisting of  the  President,  the  Vice-President, 
and  the  General  Secretaries  of  the  Sections 
into  which  the  Society  is  divided.  Its  head- 
quarters are  at  Adyar,  Madras,  India,  and 
consist  of  a  lai'ge  and  beautiful  building, 
containing  a  spacious  hall  for  meetings,  a 
fine  library,  the  offices  of  the  Society,  and  a 
number  of  living  apartments;  this  building 
is  surrounded  by  extensive  grounds,  pictur- 
esquely planted,  and  has  several  smaller 
bungalows  connected  with  it  for  the  work 
of  the  Society  and  the  reception  of  visitors. 

The  library,  Avhich  was  opened  in  188G  by 
a  remarkable  ceremony  in  which  Hindu, 
Buddhist,  Mohammedan,  and  Zoroastrian 
priests  officiated,  contains  a  valuable  collec- 
tion of  some  10,000  Eastern  palm-leaf  manu- 
scripts and  printed  literature,  some  of  the 
former  being  exceedingly  rare.  It  bids  fair 
to  grow  into  an  institution  of  very  great 
importance,  and  plans  are  on  foot  to  make 
it  a  great  teaching  centre  and  a  resort  for 
students  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  Its 
beauty,  seclusion,  and  quiet — while  only 
seven  miles  distant  from  the  city  of  ^ladras 
— combine  to  render  it  an  ideal  spot  for  the 
student.  The  anniversary  meetings  of  the 
Theosophical  Society  are  held  at  Adyar  at 
the  end  of  each  December,  and  on  that  occa- 
sion a  vast  gathering  assembles  of  members 
and  friends  from  all  parts  of  India  and  from 
other  lands;  the  twenty-first  anniversary 
was  celebrated  there  on  December  27,  28, 
29,  and  30,  1896. 

Branches  of  the  Society  not  belonging  to 
any  Section,  and  members  unattached  to 
any  Branch  or  Section,  are  connected  di- 
rectly with  the  headquarters  at  Adyar;  but 


as  soon  as  circumstances  permit  of  their 
being  organized  under  local  governments 
they  are  encouraged  to  thus  group  them- 
selves. 

Any  seven  members  of  the  Society  may 
apply  to  be  chartered  as  a  Branch,  all  char- 
ters deriving  their  authority  from  tlie  Presi- 
dent. Every  Branch,  or  Lodge,  of  tlie  So- 
ciety elects  its  own  officers  and  makes  its 
own  by-laws,  subject  to  the  provision  that 
such  by-laws  must  not  conflict  with  the  gen- 
eral rules  of  the  Society.  Any  seven  or 
more  chartered  Branches  can  be  formed  by 
the  President,  on  their  application,  into  a 
Section,  and  this  Section  enjoys  local  auton- 
omy; it  elects  a  General  Secretary,  who  is 
ex-officio  a  member  of  the  General  Council, 
the  governing  body  of  the  whole  Society, 
and  who  is  the  official  channel  of  communi- 
cation between  the  President  and  the  Sec- 
tion. Each  General  Secretar}'^  sends  an- 
nually to  the  President  a  report  of  the  year's 
work  of  his  Section,  and  these  are  summar- 
ized by  the  President  in  his  annual  report, 
and  are  preserved  as  part  of  the  records  of 
the  Society  at  Adyar.  There  are  at  present 
(1897)  seven  Sections  of  the  Theosophical 
Society:  the  American  Section,  chartered  in 
188G,  General  Secretary,  Alexander  Fuller- 
ton,  5  University  Place,  New  York  city;  it 
contains  40  Branches  and  is  growing  I'ap- 
idly;  the  European  Section,  chartered  as 
the  British  Section  in  1888,  and  extended 
to  Europe  in  1890,  General  Secretary,  G. 
P.  S.  ^lead,  10  Avenue  Koad,  Regent's 
Park,  London,  England,  with  79  Branches 
and  Centres  (groups  not  yet  chartered);  the 
Indian  Section,  chartered  in  1890,  General 
Secretaries,  Bertram  Keightley  and  L''pen- 
dranath  Basu,  Benares,  India,  with  181 
Branches  and  Centres,  of  which  47  are  in- 
active; the  Australasiaii  Section,  chartered 
in  1894,  General  Secretary,  J.  Scott,  42 
Margaret  Street,  Sydney,  N.  S.  W.,  with 
12  Branches;  the  Xew  Zealand  Section, 
chartered  in  1895,  General  Secretary,  Lilian 
Edger,  Mutual  Life  Buildings,  Auckland, 
with  8  Branches;  the  Scandinavian  Section, 


106 


THEOSOPHICAL   SOCIETY 


chartered  in  1895,  General  Secretary,  A.  Zet- 
tersten,  ISTybrogatan  30,  Stockholm,  Sweden, 
with  13  Branches;  the  Netherlands  Section, 
chartered  in  1897,  General  Secretary,  W.  B. 
Fricke,  76  Amsteldijk,  Amsterdam,  Hol- 
land, with  7  Branches. 

Ceylon  has  22  Branches,  bnt  they  are  not 
organized  into  a  Section;  the  chief  work  of 
the  Society  in  Ceylon  has  been  that  of  edu- 
cation. Under  the  inspiring  energy  of  the 
President-Founder  the  Sinhalese  Buddhists 
have  built  and  now  maintain  100  schools 
and  two  large  colleges,  educating  between 
3,000  and  9,000  Buddhist  children.  These 
22  Sinhalese  Branches  and  four  others  are 
the  only  Branches  outside  the  Sections. 

Objects. — The  objects  of  the  Theosophical 
Society  are  three  in  number:  1.  To  form  a 
nucleus  of  the  Universal  Brotherhood  of 
Humanity,  without  distinction  of  race, 
creed,  sex,  caste,  or  color.  2.  To  encourage 
the  study  of  comparative  religion,  j)hiloso- 
phy,  and  science.  3.  To  investigate  unex- 
plained laws  of  nature  and  the  powers  latent 
in  man.  Only  the  first  of  these  objects  is 
binding  on  all  members,  and  the  Society 
embraces  members  of  all  faiths,  demanding 
no  assent  to  any  formula  of  belief  as  a  quali- 
fication of  membership.  Its  members  are 
connected  by  an  ethical  rather  than  by  an 
intellectual  bond,  and  their  unity  rests  on  a 
sublime  spiritual  ideal,  not  on  a  formulated 
creed.  The  Society  has  no  dogmas,  insists 
on  no  beliefs,  indorses  no  church,  supports 
no  party,  takes  no  sides  in  the  endless  quar- 
rels that  rend  society  and  embitter  national, 
social,  and  personal  life.  It  seeks  to  draw 
no  man  away  from  his  faith,  but  helps  him 
to  find  in  the  depths  of  his  own  religion  the 
spiritual  nourishment  he  needs.  That  each 
should  show  to  the  religion  of  others  the 
respect  he  claims  for  his  own  is  understood 
as  an  honorable  obligation  in  the  Society, 
and  perfect  mutual  courtesy  on  these  mat- 
ters is  expected  from  members.  More  and 
more  this  leads  to  cooperation  in  the  search 
for  truth,  to  softening  of  prejudices,  to  lib- 
eralizing of  minds,  and  to  the  growth   of 


a  gracious  friendliness  and  willingness  to 
learn. 

Doctrines  Studied. — The  leading  doc- 
trines studied  in  the  Theosophical  Society 
are :  the  unity  of  existence ;  the  three  Logoi; 
the  nature  of  the  universe  and  of  man,  as 
macrocosm  and  microcosm,  evolving  in  a 
sevenfold  order;  the  One  Self  as  the  root  of 
Being,  its  infoldment  in  matter  and  the  un- 
foldment  of  its  powers  therein;  the  inherent 
divinity  in  man,  his  constitution  and  pow- 
ers; his  evolution  by  reincarnation,  treading 
in  turn  the  physical,  astral,  and  mental 
worlds,  time  after  time,  under  the  law  of 
causation,  or  karma,  until  perfection  is 
gained;  the  quickening  of  evolution  by  the 
study  and  practice  of  the  science  of  the 
soul;  the  present  existence  of  men  who  have 
attained  perfection,  and  who  remain  on 
earth  to  help  onward  the  evolution  of  their 
less  advanced  brethren;  the  presence  of  such 
men  in  all  ages,  as  custodians  of  a  body  of 
knowledge  respecting  God,  the  universe, 
man,  and  their  relations  to  each  other,  lead- 
ing to  a  knowledge  of  the  Self,  the  divine 
wisdom;  the  existence  and  continual  activ- 
ity of  Intelligences — spiritual  and  others — 
engaged  in  carrying  on  and  directing  all  the 
processes  of  nature,  with  whom  man  can 
come  into  contact  by  virtue  of  the  spiritual 
intelligence  latent  within  himself.  It  is 
asserted  that  these  doctrines  are  common  to 
all  religions,  and  that  where  any  of  them 
have  become  overlaid  by  efflux  of  time,  it  is 
necessary,  in  order  to  preserve  the  religion, 
that  they  should  be  restored.  Their  jDres- 
ence  in  the  various  religions  can  be  proven 
by  the  common  language  of  symbolism,  in 
which  they  are  expressed,  the  leading  sym- 
bols of  great  religions  being  identical.  The 
study  of  symbolism  is  carefully  pursued  in 
the  Branches  of  the  Society. 

Inner  Grades  mid  Teachings.— Mhile 
everyone  who  recognizes  the  universal  broth- 
erhood of  man  is  welcomed  within  the  Theo- 
sophical Society,  its  inner  grades,  comprised 
witliin  the  Eastern  School,  or  Esoteric  Sec- 
tion, are  open  only  to  those  members  of  not 


THEOSOPHICAL   SOCIETY 


107 


less  than  a  year's  standing,  who  have  made 
sufficient  jsrogress  to  have  become  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  the  fundamental  theosophi- 
cal  doctrines,  and  who,  already  striving  to 
lead  a  pure  and  unselfish  life,  desire  to  ad- 
vance more  rapidly  in  the  evolution  of  the 
inner  nature.  Such  members,  on  approval, 
enter  the  Eastern  School,  and  commence  a 
regular  course  of  study  and  jH'actice,  de- 
signed to  prepare  them  for  admission  into 
successive  stages  of  the  path  which  leads  up 
to  definite  discipleship  under  one  of  the 
great  Masters,  or  Adepts,  who  are  the  cus- 
todians of  the  divine  wisdom,  and  who  are 
ever  ready  to  welcome  the  neophyte  who 
proves  himself  worthy  of  accei)tance.  This 
School  opens  up  once  more,  in  the  sight  of 
the  modern  Avorld,  the  ancient  pathway  to 
Initiation,  the  function  performed  in  an- 
cient Greece  by  the  Schools  of  Pythagoras, 
between  which  and  the  TheosoiJhical  Society 
there  is  an  occult  tie.  Its  lowest  grades 
correspond  to  the  classes  of  Pythagorean 
scholars  who  were  learning  to  practise  in 
family  and  social  life  the  lower  classes  of 
virtues,  and  its  higher  ones,  in  ascending 
order,  lead  the  earnest  aspirant  to  the  very 
gateway  of  the  great  Initiations.  This  res- 
toration to  the  modern  world  of  the  cher- 
ished privilege  of  antiquity — the  knowledge 
where  the  beginning  of  the  pathway  can  be 
found  that  leads  from  the  life  of  the  world 
to  that  of  the  Adept,  or  the  perfected  Man, 
is  perhaps,  to  earnest  and  aspiring  souls, 
the  greatest  boon  bestowed  by  the  Theo- 
sophical  Society. 

History. — The  history  of  the  Theosophi- 
cal  Society  is  one  of  struggle  against  appar- 
ently insurmountable  obstacles,  of  crushing 
attacks  and  betrayals  from  which  it  has  ever 
emerged  the  stronger  and  the  purer,  of  tem- 
porary reverses  followed  by  swifter  progress. 
It  is  as  though  it  were  watched  over  by  a 
Power  which  subjects  it  to  the  rudest  trials, 
in  order  to  shake  out  of  it  every  member 
who  is  not  strong  enough  to  stand  alone, 
and  intuitional  enough  to  discern  the 
right  pathway  amid  bewildering  cross-roads. 


Some  think  that  the  Society  is  being  shaped 
for  a  great  work  in  the  future,  and  that  the 
unfit  are  therefore  from  time  to  time  sifted 
out. 

Two  figures  stand  prominently  out  as  the 
Founders  of  the  Society,  Colonel  Henry 
Steele  Olcott  and  Madame  Helena  Petrovna 
Blavatsky. 

Colonel  Henry  Steele  Olcott  is  a  native- 
born  American,  and  obtained  his  colonelcy 
during  the  great  Civil  War  between  Xorth 
and  South.  He  received  high  praise  from 
his  government  for  his  services,  and  was  well 
known,  in  addition,  as  a  scientific  agricul- 
turalist; but  his  cravings  after  knowledge 
of  the  invisible  worlds  drove  him  into  in- 
vestigations that  led  him  far  away  from  offi- 
cialism and  agriculture,  and  when  he  met 
Madame  H.  P.  Blavatsky  at  the  Eddy  farm- 
house, whither  he  had  gone  to  investigate 
the  spiritualistic  manifestations  tlirough  the 
Eddy  brothers,  he  was  drawn  to  her  by  her 
obvious  occult  knowledge,  and  a  bond  was 
formed  between  them  which  united  them  in 
a  common  work  on  the  physical  plane  till 
her  passing  away  in  1891.  According  to 
her  belief  and  his  the  bond  remains  un- 
broken on  the  higher  planes  of  existence, 
and  tliey  are  still  co-workers,  though  not  in 
the  physical  body.  Together  they  founded 
the  Theosophical  Society,  and  traveled 
through  the  world  to  organize  it. 

Helena  Petrovna  Blavatsky  was  a  Kus- 
sian  of  noble  family  related  to  the  imperial 
house  of  Russia.  She  was  married  in  ex- 
treme youth  to  his  Excellency  General  Xice- 
phore  Blavatsky,  governor  of  a  district  in 
the  Caucasus,  but  left  him  ere  their  married 
life  had  well  begun,  driven  by  an  insatiable 
thirst  for  occult  knowledge,  and  traveling, 
on  means  provided  by  her  father,  through 
Egypt  and  various  Eastern  lands,  in  search 
of  a  Teacher  whom  she  knew  to  exist,  but 
knew  not  where  to  find.  At  last  she  suc- 
ceeded in  the  object  of  her  search,  and  be- 
came the  pupil  of  a  great  Hindu  sage,  re- 
ceiving from  him  the  knowledge  with  which 
she  returned  to  the  Western  world.      She 


108 


THEOSOPHICAL   SOCIETY 


made  her  wa}^  to  America,  where  she  was 
directed  to  begin  her  teaching  work,  met 
Colonel  Olcott,  and  accepted  him  as  the  col- 
league she  Avas  seeking,  and  announced  her- 
self to  the  world  through  the  publication  of 
two  large  volumes,  "  Isis  Unveiled,''  a  work 
showing  a  vast  range  of  occult  knowledge, 
but  a  collection  of  notes  for  a  book  rather 
than  the  complete  book  itself. 

These  two  remarkable  persons  were  the 
founders  and  the  sustainers  of  the  Theo- 
sophical  Society:  Colonel  Olcott  the  execu- 
tive officer,  the  organizer,  presiding  over  all 
its  otiter  activities;  and  Madame  Blavatsky 
the  teacher,  the  expounder  of  occult  mys- 
teries and  the  wielder  of  occult  forces.  They 
were  the  twin  suns  round  which  the  whole 
system  revolved. 

The  Society  did  not  flourish  in  America 
after  its  foundation.  Little  interest  was 
aroused  by  its  teachings.  Spiritualism  being 
then  in  the  ascendant,  and  it  appeared  as 
though  the  Society  were  fated  to  perish  still- 
born. But  its  organization  was  just  kept 
going  by  its  founders,  and  the  great  spirit- 
ual forces  behind  it  ensured  its  continuance 
through  these  early  days.  On  July  16, 
1877,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Society,  the  Presi- 
dent was  authorized  to  form  branches  of  the 
Society  in  Great  Britain,  India,  and  else- 
where at  his  discretion,  to  transfer  the  So- 
ciety's headquarters  to  any  country  in  which 
he  might  himself  be  established,  and  to  tem- 
porarily appoint  anyone  he  might  select  to 
an}^  executive  office  necessary  for  the  trans- 
action of  business.  These  arrangements 
were  made  in  view  of  the  approaching  de- 
parture of  the  Founders  for  India;  the  New 
York  headquarters  were  broken  uji  on  their 
sailing  for  Liverpool  on  December  17, 1878, 
but  a  nucleus  appointed  by  the  President  re- 
mained to  carry  on  the  life  of  the  organiza- 
tion in  America — General  Abner  Donbleday, 
David  A.  Curtis,  G.  V.  Maynard,  and  W.  Q. 
Judge. 

The  first  offshoot  of  the  Theosophical  So- 
ciety appeared  in  Great  Britain,  and  was 
chartered  on  June  27,  1878.     This  Branch 


changed  its  name  in  1883  from  the  "Brit- 
ish Theosophical  Society  ''  to  the  "  London 
Lodge  of  the  Theosophical  Society.*'  It 
still  bears  this  name,  and  has  Mr.  A.  P. 
Sinnett,  the  well-known  writer,  as  its  Presi- 
dent. It  is  the  premier  Lodge  of  the  So- 
ciety, as  holding  the  oldest  charter. 

The  Pounders  left  England  for  India  on 
January  19,  1879,  and  landed  in  Bombay 
on  February  16th.  There  the  Indian  de- 
partment of  the  Society  was  founded,  and 
branch  after  branch  rapidly  sprang  up. 
The  movement  spread  to  Ceylon  in  1880, 
nine  branches  being  formed  there.  In  Eu- 
rope, the  Ionian  Branch  was  founded  in 
Corfu  in  1882,  followed  by  the  formation  of 
branches  in  France  in  1883,  and  in  Scot- 
land and  Germany  in  1884. 

In  America  the  movement  languished. 
An  apparently  abortive  attempt  to  form  a 
Branch  at  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  was  made  in 
April,  1879,  and  under  date  April  30,  1881, 
Mr.  Judge  writes  of  the  one  group  in  New 
York  city  that  it  is  "suspended,"  and 
"  ought  to  remain  torpid  for  some  time 
yet."  But  General  Donbleday  and  Dr. 
J.  D.  Buck  were  elected  among  the  Vice- 
Presidents  of  the  whole  Society  in  April, 
1880,  and  Mr.  Judge  was  elected  as  a  re- 
cording secretary  in  1879,  and  reelected  in 
1880.  In  January,  1882,  a  slight  renewal 
of  life  appeared  at  Eochester,  and  a  Branch 
was  chartered,  followed  on  May  5,  1883,  by 
a  Branch  at  St.  Louis.  On  December  4, 
1883,  the  original  New  York  group,  long 
suspended,  dissolved  itself,  and  the  "New 
York  Branch  of  the  Theosophical  Society  " 
was  formed  under  the  name  of  the  "  Aryan 
Theosophical  Society,"  with  Mr.  Judge  as 
President.  A  "  Board  of  Control  "  for  the 
movement  in  America  was  chartered  by  the 
President-Founder  on  May  13,  1884.  It 
lasted  until  October  30,  1886,  when  it  was 
dissolved  by  the  order  of  the  President,  and 
the  nine  Branches  of  the  Theosophical  So- 
ciety then  existing  in  America  were  formed 
into  the  first  territorial  Section  of  the  So- 
ciety.    This  Section  was  definitely  organized 


THEOSOPHICAL   SOCIETV 


109 


ou  October  30,  188G,  at  the  residence  of  Dr. 
J.  D.  Buck,  Cincinnati,  0.  Mr.  AV.  Q. 
Judge  was  unanimously  elected  General  Sec- 
retar}'  and  Treasurer,  and  from  that  time 
forward  he  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of 
building  up  the  Section  with  indomitable 
courage,  perseverance,  and  energy.  So  well 
he  wrought  that  in  nine  years  he  had  estab- 
lished a  Section  of  nearly  one  hundred 
Branches,  and  though  at  the  end  he  de- 
serted the  Society  and  struck  at  it  a  fratri- 
cidal blow,  the  errors  of  his  later  years  may 
be  forgotten  in  the  lustre  of  his  earlier  ser- 
vices, when  the  schism  he  caused  is  healed 
by  the  gentle  hand  of  time. 

The  American  revival  followed  close  ou 
the  heels  of  one  of  the  most  ruthless  attacks 
ever  made  on  the  Society.  Two  employes 
of  the  Society,  accused  of  wrong-doing, 
concerted  Avith  certain  missionaries  in  Mad- 
ras an  elaborate  accusation  against  Madame 
Blavatsky,  when  she  and  the  President  were 
absent  in  Europe,  charging  her  with  fraud 
in  connection  with  abnormal  manifesta- 
tions produced  by  her.  ]\Iadame  Blavatsky 
promptly  resigned  her  position  in  the  Soci- 
ety, in  order  that  it  might  not  be  compro- 
mised in  the  eyes  of  the  public,  and  de- 
manded an  investigation  into  the  charges. 
A  large  and  important  committee  was 
formed  to  look  into  the  matter,  and  cleared 
her  from  the  charges  made,  conclusively 
proving  that  they  were  based  entirely  on 
false  and  slanderous  statements  made  by 
enemies  of  the  Society  with  the  view  of  de- 
stroying it.  Madame  Blavatsky's  resigna- 
tion was  refused,  and  the  Society  declared 
its  full  confidence  in  her  integrity,  so  that 
the  attempt  to  ruin  her  only  enthroned  her 
more  securely  in  the  hearts  of  its  members. 
As  with  King  Solomon's  judgment,  which 
proved  the  true  mother  of  the  dispiited  child 
by  her  readiness  to  surrender  it  as  hers  in 
order  that  it  might  live,  so  did  H.  P.  Bla- 
vatsky's prompt  and  entire  self-abnegation 
prove  her  motherly  devotion  to  the  Society 
to  which  she  had  given  birth. 

From  this  time  (1884-85)  onward  the  So- 


ciety seemed  to  be  inspired  with  fresh  life 
and  energy.  Mr.  Judge,  returning  from 
India,  threw  himself  into  the  work  in  Amer- 
ica with  the  results  already  noted.  The 
President  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  Lord 
Derby,  then  the  head  of  the  Colonial  Office, 
various  alterations  in  the  government  pol- 
icy in  Ceylon,  thus  benefiting  the  Buddhist 
population  of  that  island,  while  the  govern- 
ment in  India  at  last  withdrew  from  the 
official  persecution  by  police  esi)ionage  which 
it  had  carried  on  against  the  two  Founders, 
under  the  pretence  that  they  were  engaged 
in  j^olitical  intrigues.  ^ladame  Blavatsky 
settled  in  Europe,  at  first  in  Germany  and 
then  in  London,  where  she  gathered  round 
her  a  number  of  pupils,  since  well  known 
in  the  movement,  Bertram  and  Arcliibald 
Keightley,  G.  K.  S.  Mead,  C.  F.  Wright,  tlie 
Countess  "Wachtmeister,  Mrs.  Isabel  Cooper 
Oakley,  Mrs.  Annie  Besant,  all  members  of 
the  powerful  London  group  called  the  Bla- 
vatsky Lodge,  while  she  was  also  in  the  close 
neighborhood  of  her  old  pupils,  A.  P.  Sin- 
nett  and  C.  AV.  Leadbeater,  two  of  the  most 
widely  knoAvn  writers  on  Theosophy.  (All 
these,  except  Dr.  Archibald  Keightley  and 
Mr.  AA'right,  remained  loyal  to  the  Society  in 
the  great  crisis  of  1894-95.)  The  European 
movement  grew  rapidly  under  the  impulse 
given  by  ^Madame  Blavatsky's  presence  and 
writings,  and  her  London  pupils  have  re- 
mained the  leading  writers  of  theosophical 
literature,  forming  the  literary  heart  of  the 
Society.  At  the  close  of  1888  Madame  Bla- 
vatsky, with  her  colleague's  cordial  assent, 
formed  her  personal  pupils  into  the  Esoteric 
Section,  that  she  later  named  the  Eastern 
School,  thus  publicly  reo])ening  the  ancient 
pathway  to  the  obtaining  of  the  divine  wis- 
dom. In  1891,  on  May  8th,  she  passed  out 
of  the  body,  bidding  her  pupils  to  expect 
her  reappearance  ere  long  in  India,  in  an 
Indian  body  chosen  by  her  Master  as  the 
vehicle  for  her  next  incarnation.  She  left 
the  carrying  on  of  her  special  department 
of  work  in  the  hands  of  her  pupil,  Mrs. 
Annie   Besant,    in  whose   charge  she    also 


110 


THEOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY 


placed  the  whole  of  her  unpublished  manu- 
scripts. 

The  Society  continued  to  spread  in  all 
parts  of  the  world,  but  in  1892  and  1893 
many  complaints  were  circulated  accusing 
Mr.  \\.  Q.  Judge — who  had  been  made 
Vice-President  of  the  whole  Society — of 
forging  messages  which  purported  to  come 
from  the  Masters.  The  scandal  grew  so 
great  that  it  became  necessary  to  investigate 
it,  and  Mrs.  Annie  Besant  early  in  1894 
presented  a  formal  request  to  the  President 
to  appoint  a  committee  for  the  investigation 
of  the  charges.  The  committee  met  in  Lon- 
don in  the  July  of  the  same  year,  but  was 
foiled  in  its  purpose  by  the  legal  ingenuity 
of  the  accused,  who  pleaded  that  it  had  no 
jurisdiction  to  try  him.  The  abortive  at- 
tempt to  put  things  right  only  increased  the 
scandal,  and  at  the  Convention  of  the  In- 
dian Section  in  the  following  December  a 
resolution  was  passed  calling  on  the  Presi- 
dent to  obtain  from  Mr.  Judge  a  vindication 
of  his  character  within  six  months,  or  fail- 
ing that  to  expel  him  from  the  Society. 
The  Australian  Section  followed  suit,  and 
the  European  called  on  Mrs.  Besant  to  pub- 
lisli  the  evidence.  At  that  time  the  Society 
cousisted  only  of  four  Sections,  and  three  of 
these  were  resolute  that  Mr.  Judge  should 
clear  his  character  or  leave  the  Society. 
Meanwhile  Mr.  Judge  had  been  planning  a 
coup  de  theatre.  He  had  circulated  pri- 
vately documents  denouncing  Mrs.  Besant, 
and  claiming  the  right  to  remove  her  from 
the  position  as  teacher  she  had  been  given 
by  Madame  Blavatsky.  His  American  col- 
leagues supported  him,  and  he  induced 
them,  at  the  Convention  of  the  American 
Section  at  Boston,  in  April,  1895,  to  declare 
the  American  Society  independent,  with 
himself  as  President  for  life.  He  was  sup- 
ported by  90  votes  to  10,  and  the  American 
Section  was  reduced  to  fourteen  Branches, 
the  remainder  constituting  themselves  into 
a  separate  Society,  leaving  the  international 
body,  and,  while  retaining  its  name,  casting 
off    their   allesfiance   to    its    President   and 


seceding  from  the  original  association.  A 
couple  of  hundred  members  followed  their 
example  in  Europe,  under  the  leadership  of 
Dr.  Archibald  Keightley,  and  about  a  score 
followed  suit  in  Australasia.  The  fratricidal 
blow  did  not  succeed  in  slaying  the  great 
international  Society.  Even  in  America  a 
remnant  stood  firm  and  remained  as  the 
American  Section,  and  the  fourteen  Branches 
to  which  it  was  reduced  had  increased  to 
forty  in  July,  1897.  In  Europe  the  Society 
has  grown  rapidly  in  importance,  and  there 
are  now  three  Sections  in  Europe  instead  of 
'  one,  while  in  Australasia  New  Zealand  has 
become  a  separate  Section,  the  Theosophical 
Society  thus  possessing  seven  Sections  scat- 
tered over  the  world.  The  whole  Society  is 
the  stronger  and  the  purer  for  the  lesson 
that  no  position  in  it,  however  high,  no  ser- 
vices, however  great,  can  be  held  to  condone 
deviations  from  the  path  of  probity  and  truth 
in  the  Society's  work. 

Bibliography. — The  leading  magazines  in 
the  Society  are  "  The  Theosophist,"  founded 
by  H.  P.  Blavatsky  and  Colonel  H.  S.  01- 
cott,  edited  by  the  latter,  and  published  at 
Adyar,  Madras,  India;  "  Lucifer,"  founded 
by  H.  P.  Blavatsky,  edited  by  Annie  Besant 
and  G.  E.  S.  Mead,  and  published  in  Lon- 
don, England;  "  Mercury,"  edited  by  J.  "W. 
Walters,  published  in  San  Francisco,  Cal., 
U.  S.  A.;  "  Theosophy  in  Australasia," 
published  in  Sydney,  N.  S.  W.,  Australia; 
"  Theosophia,"  published  in  Amsterdam, 
Holland;  "  Le  Lotus  Bleu,"  edited  by  Dr. 
Pascal,  and  published  in  Paris;  "  Teosofisk 
Tidokrift,"  published  in  Stockholm,  Swe- 
den; "Sophia,"  published  in  Madrid,  Spain. 
Besides  these,  there  are  many  smaller  jour- 
nals in  various  languages,  issued  in  Europe 
and  in  India,suitable  to  local  work  and  needs. 

The  chief  works  issued  are — By  H.  P. 
Blavatsky:  "  The  Secret  Doctrine,"  3  vols. ; 
"The  Key  to  Theosophy; "  "' Isis  Un- 
veiled," 2  vols.;  "The  Voice  of  the  Si- 
lence;" "' Panarion,  or  a  Collection  of 
Fugitive  Papers;"  "The  Caves  and  Jun- 
gles of  Hindostan;"  "Nightmare  Tales," 


THE   ROCHESTER   BROTHERHOOD 


111 


a  collection  of  extraordinarily  weird,  occult 
stories.  By  H.  S.  Olcott:  "Old  Diary 
Leaves,"  a  history  of  the  Theosophical  So- 
ciety; "  Theosophy,  lieligion,  and  Occult 
Science;"  " Posthumous Iluinanity,"  trans- 
lated from  the  French;  "  A  Buddhist  Cate- 
chism; "  '"  Kinship  between  Hinduism  and 
Buddhism."  By  A.  P.  Sinnett:  "The 
Occult  World;"  "Esoteric  Buddhism;" 
"  The  Growth  of  the  Soul;  "  "  The  Ration- 
ale of  Mesmerism;"  "Karma,"  a  novel. 
By  Annie  Besaut:  Five  of  the  series  of 
"  Theosojihical  Manuals,"  expositions  of 
Theosophical  doctrines;  "'  The  Ancient  Wis- 
dom," an  outline  of  Theosophy;  "The 
Building  of  the  Kosmos;  "  "The  Self  and 
its  Sheaths;"  "The  Birth  and  Evolution 
of  the  Soul;"  "In  the  Outer  Court;" 
"  The  Path  of  Discipleship;  "  "  Four  Great 
Religions,"  expositions  of  Hinduism,  Zoro- 
astriauism.  Buddhism,  and  Christianity; 
"The  Three  Paths  to  Union;"  a  transla- 
tion from  the  Sanskrit  of  "  The  Bhagavad 
Gita."  By  G.  R.  S.  Mead:  "Plotinus;" 
"  Orpheus;  "  "'  The  World  Mystery;  "  "  Si- 
mon Magus;"  a  translation  of  the  "  Pistis 
Sophia;  "  a  translation  from  the  Sanskrit, 
"The  Upanishads,"  2  vols.  By  C.  W. 
Lead  beater:  Two  of  the  series  of  "Theo- 
sophical Manuals;"  "Dreams."  By  W. 
Scott-Elliot:  "The  Story  of  Atlantis," 
with  maps.  By  M.  C. :  "'  Light  on  the 
Path."  By  Franz  Hartmann:  "Magic, 
White  and  Black;"  "The  Secret  Symbols 
of  the  Rosicrucians."  By  Dr.  Pascal: 
"L"A.  B.  C.  de  la  Theosophie; "  "  Les 
Sept  Principes  de  I'llomme."  By  Alexan- 
der Fullerton:  "'  The  Wilkesbarre  Letters;  " 
"The  Indianapolis  Letters."  By  Walter 
R.  Old:  "What  is  Theosophy?"  By  W. 
Kingsland:  "The  Esoteric  Basis  of  Chris- 
tianity." By  Rama  Prasad:  "Nature's 
Finer  Forces."  By  T.  Subba  Row:  "Dis- 
courses on  the  Bhagavad  Gita;  "  "  Esoteric 
Writings."  There  is  a  very  large  pamphlet 
literature. 

[The  Theosophical  Society  has  also  had 


some  of  the  ordinary  secret  society  elements 
of  secrecy  in  it;  i.e.,  "certain  signs,  pass- 
words, and  a  grip."  ^Irs.  Besant  writes 
that  these  "are  still  universally  used  in 
India,"  where  every  new  member  is  for- 
mally received  and  invested  with  them. 
"  In  the  West,"  she  adds,  "  tiiey  have  been 
dropped — a  mistake,  I  think.  The  Esoteric 
Section  or  Eastern  School  is  a  secret  society. 
H.  P.  Blavatsky  was  often  asked  by  Masons 
to  give  them  the  lost  knowledge,  and  would 
sometimes  surprise  them  by  giving  them 
their  own  grips.  She  had  some  pupils 
among  them,  but  I  am  not  aware  that  she 
offered  them  that  which,  as  a  body,  they 
seek."  The  emblems  selected  by  the  Theo- 
sophical Society  are  familiar  to  all  students 
of  symbolism,  particularly  to  those  who  have 
attained  the  haut  grades  of  Scottish  Rite 
Freemasonr3^  They  consist  of  an  Egyptian 
tau  in  the  centre  of  two  interlaced  equilat- 
eral triangles  encircled  by  a  serpent  holding 
aloft  the  swastika,  or  Phusnician  tau.  Fj'om 
the  point  of  view  of  the  Theosophical  So- 
ciety it  is  explained  that  "the  serpent  sym- 
bolizes, as  a  serpent,  wisdom,  and  as  a  ring, 
eternity;  also  the  manifested  universe  de- 
scribed by  the  eternal  wisdom.  The  swas- 
tika is  the  divine  power  in  creative  activity, 
by  its  motion  producing  or  generating  all. 
The  tau  is  the  symbol  of  the  same  power  in 
its  lower  aspect,  when  in  the  Egyptian  form 
the  interlaced  triangles  are  spirit  and  mat- 
ter, life  and  form,  fire  and  water,  indivisible 
during  manifestation,  and  within  these  the 
tau  works." — Editor.] 

Tlie  Roehestor  Brotlierliood.  — 
Founded  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  in  1887,  a 
religious,  mystical  society,  which  seeks  to 
show  that  "the  Perfect  Man  is  the  anthro- 
pomorphic God.''  Its  symbol  is  a  triangle 
with  R.  B.  in  the  centre.  The  letters  L  L 
arc  placed  at  the  upper  i)oint,  S  S  at  the 
left,  K  D  at  the  right  point,  meaning  re- 
spectively "  Live  the  Life,"  "  Search  the 
Scriptures,"  and  "Know  the  Doctrine."* 
Its  membership  is  small. 


112 


FRATERNAL   ORDERS 


II 


MUTUAL  ASSESSMENT  BEJ^TEFIOIAET  EEATEEISTITIES 

(GENEKAL) 


Fraternal  Orders. — Within  a  dozen 
years  this  expression  has  come  to  have  spe- 
cial reference  to  the  beneficiary  secret  soci- 
eties, those  which  pay  death,  sick,  funeral, 
disability,  or  other  benefits,  and  which  have 
become  so  popular.  They  are  the  natural 
outgrowth  of  tlie  English  friendly  societies. 

The  first  English  friendly  societies  act 
was  passed  in  1793.  It  designated  them  as 
societies  of  good  fellowship.  Their  origin 
seems  by  common  consent  to  be  the  burial 
club  of  the  ancient  Chinese,  the  Grrecks,  and, 
after  them,  the  Eomans,  by  whom  the  idea 
was  transmitted  to  the  Teutons,  whence  the 
Teutonic  Guilds.  There  appears  to  be  some 
doubt  whether  the  earliest  English  friendly 
societies  were  of  Eoman  or  Teutonic  origin. 
Investigators  declare  that  both  the  Greeks 
and  the  early  English  guilds  followed 
burial  relief  with  a  system  of  mutual  assist- 
ance in  sickness  and  distress.  Naturally,  in 
the  beginning,  guilds  were  largely  made  up 
of  neighbors,  those  living  in  a  particular 
locality,  from  which  it  is  but  a  step  to 
guilds  made  up  of  members  of  the  same 
trade,  whence  the  early  trades  unions,  or 
guilds.  After  the  suppression  of  the  re- 
ligious guilds  in  England  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  a  system  of  organized  relief  was 
substituted,  by  means  of  the  poor  law  of 
Elizabeth,  after  which  followed  the  earlier 
of  the  present  type  of  what  in  England  are 
called  friendly  societies.  The  earliest  of 
the  known  English  friendly  societies  Avere 
formed  in  1634,  but  authorities  agree  that 
no  connection  has  been  shown  between 
them  and  the  last  of  the  medigeval  guilds 
in  1628.  After  the  first  friendly  societies 
act  was  passed,  it  is  stated  that  thousands 
of  clubs  formed  friendly  societies,  designed 


to  promote  good  fellowship  and  relief  dur- 
ing sickness,  and  burial  at  death.  Some  of 
those  societies  have  maintained  a  continued 
existence  to  this  day,  more  than  one  hun- 
dred years.  The  cutting  down  of  the  taxes 
for  the  relief  of  the  poor  in  1819  showed  the 
appreciation  of  the  British  Government  of 
the  work  done  by  the  friendly  societies  in 
encouraging  self-relief.  The  friendly  so- 
cieties act  was  entirely  reconstructed  in 
1829,  so  as  to  take  cognizance  of  the  inten- 
tions and  requirements  of  such  societies. 
The  act  was  further  amended  in  1834,  1846, 
1850, 1855,  and  in  1875  and  1876.  By  1855, 
when  friendly  societies,  notably  the  Eng- 
lish Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
Manchester  Unity,  and  the  Ancient  Order 
of  Foresters,  had  become  firmly  established 
and  extremely  jDopular  throughout  the  King- 
dom, there  were  21,875  such  organizations 
registered.  Under  the  act  as  amended  in 
1876,  British  friendly  societies  were  divided 
into  thirteen  classes  :  1.  Affiliated  Socie- 
ties, or  Orders,  such  as  Odd  Fellows,  For- 
esters, Rechabites,  Druids,  and  the  like, 
which  have  lodges,  courts,  tents,  or  divi- 
sions ;  2.  General  Societies  ;  3.  County  So- 
cieties ;  4.  Local  Town  Societies  ;  5.  Local 
Village  Societies  ;  6.  Particular  Trade  So- 
cieties ;  7.  Dividing  Societies  ;  8.  Deposit 
Friendly  Societies  ;  9.  Collecting  Societies  ; 
10.  Annuity  Societies  ;  11.  Female  Soci- 
eties, such  as  the  Female  Foresters,  Odd 
Sisters,  Loyal  Orangewomen,  Comforting 
Sisters,  etc.;  12.  Workingmen's  Clubs,  for 
those  in  search  of  employment,  or  relief 
from  special  ailment ;  and  13.  Cattle  Insur- 
ance Societies.  By  the  amended  act  of 
1875  these  Societies  make  annual  reports 
of  their   condition  and  operations,  and  at 


FRATERNAL   ORDERS 


113 


five-year  intervals  statements  of  assets,  lia- 
bilities, risks,  and  contributions. 

The  Odd  Fellows,  Foresters,  Recliabites, 
and  Druids,  all  English  friendly  societies  of 
the  first  class,  had  been  introduced  into  the 
United  States  prior  to  the  Civil  War,  up 
to  which  period  native  efforts  to  make 
secret  societies  had  been  confined  largely 
to  political  organizations.  Exceptions  were 
the  college  fraternities  and  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men,  a  veritable  friendly 
society.  At  the  close  of  the  war  tlie  Knights 
of  Pythias  appeared,  likewise  a  friendly 
society,  and  a  few  years  later  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen,  the  pioneer 
secret  order  founded  to  make  practicable  a 
system  of  cooperative  life  insurance.  This 
it  did,  and  has  had  several  hundred  imita- 
tors, of  which  many  survive.  Excei)t  in 
that  these  Fraternal  Orders,  by  means  of 
mutual  assessments,  pay  benefits  to  relatives 
of  deceased  members,  they  practically  par- 
allel the  English  friendly  societies  named. 
The  Mutual  Underwriter  Chart  of  Frater- 
nal Organizations  shows  that  at  the  begin- 
ning of  1896  there  were  1,833,304  members 
belonging  to  the  fraternal  organizations  re- 
porting to  various  insurance  departments. 
At  the  beginning  of  1897  that  total  had 
increased  to  2,048,092.  The  '^ amount  of 
protection  written"  during  the  year  1896 
was  $574,964,915,  as  against  $517,512,481. 
That  in  force  was  $3,698,398,335,  as  against 
$3,392,016,474.  The  assets  aggregated 
$12,078,710,  against  $9,604,974,  the  year 
before.  The  liabilities  were  $3,666,924; 
against  $2,479,438.  From  assessments  in 
1896  the  sum  of  $39,896,618  was  received, 
against  $35,844,732  in  1895.  Receipts,  ex- 
clusive of  assessments,  were  $6,278,397  in 
1896,  and  $2,617,206  in  1895.  The  total 
income  was  $42,678,120  in  1896,  and  $38,- 
851,727  in  1895;  $38,067,676  losses  paid  in 
1896,  and  $34,575,927  in  1895.  Ex]icnses 
in  1896  were  $2,895,872,  and  $2,699,534  in 
1895.  Total  disbursements  forl896  amounted 
to  $40,985,084,  while  in  1895  they 
$37,338,157. 


Forty-eight  of  the  larger  and  more  suc- 
cessful Orders,  those  forming  the  National 
Fraternal  Congress,  are  fewer  than  one- 
third  of  the  total  number  of  like  societies 
still  in  existence,  yet  they  report  four- 
fifths  of  the  total  membership  of  all  bene- 
ficiary secret  societies,  about  1,600,000  out 
of  2,000,000.*  Their  outstanding  ccr- 
tificates  represent  about  $4,000,000,000  of 
"protection,''  and  during  the  last  thirty 
years  they,  have  disbursed  nearly  $150,000,- 
000.  It  is  not  known  that  writers  on  co- 
operation, in  the  United  States  have  had 
their  attention  called  to  the  progress  made 
by  cooperative  or  mutual  assessment  life 
insurance,  beside  which,  cooperative  buying 
among  consumers,  cooperative  stores,  and 
industrial  cooperation,  in  this  countiy,  hide 
their  diminished  heads. 

*  The  following  statistics  of  membership  of 
various  fraternal  orders  are  furnished  by  Mr.  Adam 
Warnock,  Boston,  Supreme  Secretary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Legion  of  Honor  : 


Name  of  Order. 


were 


Almvas  Israel,  Independent  Order 

American  Henetit  Society 

American  (iuil<i 

American  Lcf^'ioii  nf  Honor 

Ancient  Order  of  tlic  Pyramids 

Ancient  Order  United  Worlvnien 

Artisans'  Order  of  Mntiud  Protection 

B'nai  B'ritli,  Independent  Order 

Ben  Hiir,  Supreme  Tribe  of 

Bolieiniun  C.  C  U 

Boliemian  Slavonian  Kniglits  and  Ladies.. 

Brotliei  hood  of  the  Union 

Canadian  (Jrder  of  Foresters 

Catholic  Benevolent  l.cfiion 

Catholic  Kniu'lits  of  America 

C'alhiilic  Knijihts  of  WlKonsin 

Catholic  Mutual  r.enelit  .\seociation 

Catholic  Order  of  Koreslers 

Catholic  Relief  and  Beneficiary  Association. 

Catliolic  Women's  Benevolent  Legion 

Chosen  Friends,  Order  of 

Foresters  of  Illinois.  IndependentOrder  of . 

Fraternal  .\id  Association 

Fraternal  Alliance 

Fraternal  Tiihnnes 

Free  Sons  of  Israel,  Independent  Order. . . . 

Foresters,  Independent  Order  of 

Fraternal  I>e<:ion 

Fraternal  Mystic  Circle 

Fraternal  Union  of  America 

(i;ii.  Assemhly  of  Uu-  .Amer.  Benev.  Assn.. 

Golden  Cross,"  X'nited  ( )rder 

Golden  Star  Fraternity   

Good  Fellows,  Hoyal  Society  of 

Ileptasophs.  IinjjroviMi  ( )r(ler 

llerniann's  Sons  of  Wisconsin 

Home  Circle 

Ilonii'  Forum  Benefit  OrdiT 


Mem- 
bership, 
1897. 


2,»J0.3 

4,381 

3,680 

21,31.') 

3,02f. 

.347,990 

4,54.5 

(i,15ti 

13,G95 

10,827 

1,211 

12,tii;6 

27,1G.5 

46.998 

22.878 

7,4as 

43,028 
5.-),4(-3 
4,077 
4,78« 
24,4:« 
15,13ti 
13,3.'>7 
2,519 
2,!)18 
12,185 
124.B85 
2.318 
12.1S1 
6,011 
2,445 
32,983 
2.097 
10.3:8 
38.2.5(> 
2.30S 
t'..293 
42.'.K« 


Auioiiiit 

Claims 

Paid, 

1897. 


$18,114 

32,750 

43.000 

l,98;i,.50O 

16,.'i00 

7,7()1,9:M 

38,000 

104,393 

74,700 

ltX).800 

20.(KX» 

.'>7..')00 

l.'->2,:i25 

1,081,407 

710.208 

1(H).  000 

t;90.(X)0 

327,200 

3f..:«3 

14,000 

K48,46R 

19(i.300 

93,500 

6,017 

4,060 

277,927 

9fl2.22<i 

42,l.'-.0 

173.250 

22.075 

11,3'.)0 

494,150 

23..'n5 

.324,370 

5>'3.4ij0 

(W.HOtJ 

328,608 


114 


FRATERNAL   ORDERS 


The  enormous  membership  of  the  rela- 
tively numerous  Fraternal  Orders  is  ex- 
plained by  their  beneficiary  or  "'protec- 
tion "  features,  which  Vary  greatly,  and  not 
only  include  a  death  benefit  varying  from 
$100  to  So, 000,  but  insurance  against  sick- 
ness, disability,  and  accident,  and,  in  in- 
stances, a  funeral  benefit,  and  a  benefit  at 
the  death  of  the  wife  of  a  member,  while 
one  Order  erects  a  monument  over  the  grave 
of  everv  deceased    member,  to  cost 


Name  of  Ordek. 


Indepenrieiit  Order  Mutual  Aid 

ludi'peiident  Order  of  Foresters 

Indei)ciuleiit  W'estern  Star  Order 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor 

Kni^lits  and  Ladies  of  Security 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  the  Fireside    

Knights  and  Ladies  of  the  Golden  Star 

Knights  of  Columbus 

Knights  of  Father  Mathew 

Knights  of  Honor 

Iviiights  of  Pytiiias,  Endowment  Kank 

Knights  of  St.  Jolm  and  Malta 

Kniglitsof  Sobriety,  Fidelity,  and  Integrity 

Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle 

Knights  of  the  Maccabees 

Ladies'  Catholic  Benevolent  Association.... 

Ladies  of  tlie  Maccabees 

Legion  of  the  Red  Cross 

Loyal  Additional  Benefit  Association 

Loyal  Mystic  Legion  of  America 

IjoW  (Terinan  (ir.  Lodge  of  the  U.  S.  of  N.  A 

Masonic  Protective  Association 

Modern  Woodmen  of  America. ...    

Mutual  Protection,  Order  of 

Mystic  Workers  of  the  World 

National  Benevolent  Society 

National  Protective  Legion 

National  Provident  LTnion , 

National  Reserve  Association 

National  Union 

New  England  Order  of  Protection 

Northwestern  Legion  of  Honor 

North  .\merican  Union 

Pilgrim  Fatliers,  United  Order  of 

Protected  Home  Circle 

Ridgehy  Protection  Association 

Roj-id  Arcanum , 

Royal  Circle 

Royal  League 

Royal  Neiglibors  of  America , 

Royal  Temple  of  Temperance 

Royal  Tribe  of  Joseph 

Scottish  Clans,  Order  of 

Shield  of  Honor 

Supreme  Council,  Home  Circle 

Sui>reme  Council,  Legion  of  Honor , 

Supreme  Court  of  Honor , 

Supreme  Lodge,  Nat.  Reserve  Association.. 
Supreme  Lodge,  Order  of  Colutnbian  Kts. , 
Supreme  Ruling,  Fraternal  Mystic  Circle.. , 

United  Friends,  Order  of ." 

United  Friends  of  Michigan , 

Women's  Catholic  Order  of  Foresters 

Woodmen  of  the  World 

Workmen's  Benefit  Association , 


Mem- 
bership, 
1897. 

Amount 
Claims 
Paid, 

1897. 

4,950 

122,000 

124,685 

992,226 

2,973 

7.500 

66,437 

1,1 91, .500 

18,427 

168,967 

2,405 

12,333 

5,304 

60.8-J8 

17,576 

87,000 

3.480 

45,200 

89,679 

3,918,264 

51,715 

1,108,180 

3,788 

52,000 

4,273 

60,.598 

2,236 

43,000 

217,068 

1,754,926 

32,273 

179,500 

26,380 

131,450 

4,012 

36,200 

5.373 

86,000 

3,606 

11,000 

5,.560 

14.500 

4,060 

11,472 

259,584 

1,905,250 

4.."iK9 

54,930 

2..-,J5 

7,000 

2,.509 

8,468 

5,320 

79,952 

3,972 

163,850 

4,336 

18,.500 

46,602 

1,239,470 

21.950 

294.000 

2,496 

35,250 

2.717 

13,000 

23,039 

352.000 

23,652 

1.57,500 

10,078 

28,503 

195,105 

5,210,823 

3,199 

6,100 

15,100 

307,875 

12.120 

31,.50O 

12,435 

333,467 

3#7.S 

11,975 

4..335 

39.750 

9.6.59 

106,000 

6.293 

153,695 

3,396 

96,000 

24,217 

88,300 

3,241 

31,000 

4,594 

26,101 

12,181 

177,.500 

10,491 

41.5,fi0S 

3.246 

49.284 

13,869 

62,000 

97,811 

1,0S8„558 

5,341 

29.000 

The  total  membership  of  the  foregoing  list  is 
2,557,374.  Amount  of  benefits  paid  in  1897,  $41,- 
070,746.  Total  payments  from  1867  to  1897  were 
over  $420,000,000. 


But  these  societies  go  farther  by  cultivat- 
ing a  spirit  of  fraternity  and  by  encourag- 
ing centres  of  intellectual,  aesthetic,  and  so- 
cial development,  which  often  take  the  place 
of  the  club.  The  names  of  many  of  the 
Orders  are  pretentious  and  some  ridiculous. 
In  many  instances  the  titles  of  executive 
officers  sound  out  of  place  ;  but  not  more  so 
than  a  few  employed  in  older  and  larger 
societies.  The  tendency  appears  to  still  be 
for  the  multiplication  of  Fraternal  Orders. 
In  the  latter  half  of  the  previous  century 
very  few  new  secret  societies  made  their 
appearance,  the  fascination  of  Freemasonry 
for  intelligent  men  leading  them  rather  to 
amplify  than  to  imitate.  A  result  Mas  that 
more  than  1,000  Masonic  and  other  degrees 
were  invented,  most  of  which  are  fortu- 
nately dead.  But  during  the  latter  third  of 
the  nineteenth  century  activity  in  secret 
society  lines  has  been  transferred  to  Amer- 
ica, where  the  bent  seems  to  have  been  to 
invent  new  secret  societies,  legions,  circles, 
unions,  or  orders — most  of  them  designed 
to  provide  machinery  for  collecting  assess- 
ments and  paying  them  over  to  those 
whose  misfortunes  and  the  terms  of  their 
contracts,  policies,  or  certificates  make 
them  the  recipients.  These  orders  are  still 
in  the. formative  period,  and  much  remains 
to  be  done  before  any  of  the  systems  of 
levying  assessments  can  be  generally  recog- 
nized as  a  near  approach  to  perfection.  As 
a  result  there  are  many  weakling  bene- 
ficiary societies,  and  a  number  are  fore- 
doomed to  failure.  When  the  stronger  and 
more  progressive  orders  shall  have  demon- 
strated the  character  and  extent  of  their 
work  by  employing  substantially  the  same 
system  of  assessments,  there  will  be  fewer 
weak  and  imperfect.  The  tendency  will 
then  be  to  have  less  and  less  to  do  with  the 
secrecy  of  which  so  much  and  yet  so  little 
is  made  to-day,  and  combination  or  con- 
solidation will  appear  to  complete  a  suc- 
cessful, cooperative  machine  for  ameli- 
orating the  ills  the  human  flesh  is  heir  to. 
The    beneficiary   societies    as    constituted 


^MMARIES  OP  TOTALS  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES. 

- 

' 

jro 

30- 

)n8. 

Ord.  United 
American 
Mechanics. 

Sons  of 
Temper- 
ance. 

Woodmen 
of  tlie 
World. 

Anc.andlU. 

Knights  of 

Malta. 

Pat.  Order 
Sons  of 
America. 

Ord.  of  the 

Am.  Union 

and  Un. 

Deputies. 

I 

"A.  P.  A." 

1898. 
Free- 
masons. 

100 
200 
200 
400 
250 
185 

,335 

!,100 
547 

619 
2,017 

198 
6,434 
3,273 
7,854 

1,428 
1,072 

42(i 
5.422 

584 
2,367 

100 

500 

-  100,000 

6,500 

22.085 

3,800|         9.111 

4,750|         7,758 

2,500 

1,000 

100,000        38,416 

2.700,         5.113 

93 

1,000 

3.800 

17.053 

20,395 

3,161 
4,111 
13,707 
449 
1,497 
2,360 

11,299 

2,054 
1,595 
9,832 

93 

2,600 

600 
1,800 
10,000 
700 
300 
100 

2,500 

1,500 

4,500 

60,000 

400 
2,000 

400 

100,000 

j  100,000 
65,000 

[    25,000 

121,550 

150,000 

:      78.000 
165.000 
(      2,500 
i    18,000 
(      7,500 

99,544 

95,480 
16,543 

!  780 
409 

786 

51,031 
2,120 

1  665 

6S9 

33 
26 

7,474 
5,983 

f,713 

1,167 

I  599 

25,285 

4,054 

275 

26 

151 

153 

14,170 

812 

845 

511 
1,010 
1.U37 

18,500 
100 

68,800      190,000 

3,000      100,000 
2,500        60.000 

421,000 

163,500 
75,850 

125,000 
85,000 

125,000 

138,000 

178,637 

41,713 
29,387 

256 
719 

163 
237 
767 

50 

75 
50 

400 
400 

39,570 
18,4(i4 

^577 
087 

"  "  '4,474 

150 

3,000 
500 

80,000 
50,000 

53.285 

30,880 

1,435 

250 
108 

4,G59 

2,029 

375 
50 

40 

7,032 

539 

811 

375 

1,200 
600 

9,800 

290,000      712,350 

50,000      176,850 
25,000        12,500 

213.305 
16.946 

1,500 

15,691 

4,325 

3,000 

18,000 

7,500 

2,702 

1 

11 

4.308 

[■ 

1,000 

2,706 

ion 

1,175 

458 

293 
400 
100 
589 
258 

465 

1,361 

3,438 
3,500 

1,800 

2,500 

500 
400 
300 

75,000 

60,000 
30,000 

j     20,000 

222,175 

76,000 

84.500 

j    19,000 

\    65,325 

100,000 

10,500 

43,528 

327 

27,489 

11,763 

1,011 

1,252 

19,888 

2,500 

7,335 

790 

■  1 

,640 

449 
,281 
983 

327 

8,190' 3.700 

110,000 

355.325 

68,276 

400 

5.114 

151 

246             S'^1 

5,600 

0    ErfiA 

12,803 

loa 

1 i 

■in  o-A 

TOTAL  MEMBERSHIP  BY  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES  OP  TWENTY-SIX  OF 


THE  LEADING  SECRET  SOCIETIES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  TOGETHER  WITH  SUMMARIES  OF  TOTALS  IN  FOREIUN  COUNTRIES. 


Total  T'aDada 

Total  Elsew'e  N.Am, 

Total  South  America. 

Total  Europe 

Total  Ai*ia 

Total  Africa 

Total  Australasia  . . , 

Total  Oceanica 

Total 


■  Not  organlaed  Into  separate  State  or  Territorial  Grand  Bojlea. 


if  KrN'kah  Id  lb<>  C  S 


FRATERNAL   ORDERS 


115 


lo-day   may  be  divided  into  four  general 
classes  : 

(1)  Those  which  bind  themselves  to 
bury  their  dead,  and  to  furnish  stated  relief 
to  members  who  may  be  sick,  disabled,  etc., 
irrespective  of  the  need  of  such  members 
for  pecuniary  assistance  ; 

(2)  Regular  death  benefit,  mutual  assess- 
ment societies ; 

(3)  Death  benefit  orders  of  the  short- 
term  variety,  which  seek  to  couple  mutual 
assessment  life-insurance  with  the  tontine 
plan  and  pay  back  to  surviving  members 
who  shall  have  made  regular  payments, 
etc.,  for  a  certain  number  of  years,  the  full 
amount  of  their  assessments,  or  premiums, 
in  some  instances  with  interest  added.  The 
success  which  temporarily  attended  a  few  of 
the  better-known  short-term  orders  which 
are  dead,  appeared  to  be  due  to  surviving 
members  being  relatively  few,  and  lapsed 
memberships  comparatively  numerous. 

(4)  The  fourth  group  is  not  a  large  one, 
comprising  the  few  orders  which  have 
sought  to  render  the  Building  and  Loan 
Association  more  attractive  by  reason  of 
becoming  a  secret  order. 

The  accompanying  tabular  exhibit  of 
statistics  of  membership  of  twenty-six  of  the 
larger  and  more  important  national  and 
international  secret  societies  in  the  United 
States,  with  totals  arranged  by  States  and 
Territories,  in  conjunction  with  those  of 
membership  abroad,  must  prove  of  interest 
to  members  of  the  organizations  named,  as 
well  as  to  students  of  the  sociological  aspects 
of  the  growth  and  development  of  secret 
societies.  This  presentation  has  been  pre- 
pared after  prolonged  correspondence  with 
those  best  fitted  to  eon  tribute  data,  and  repre- 
sents the  latest  available  comparative  totals 
of  all  the  organizations.  The  Loyal  Orange 
Institution  is  omitted  because  of  its  prefer- 
ence not  to  make  public  details  as  to  mem- 
bership. Totals  for  the  Ancient  Order  of 
Hibernians  refer  to  only  one  branch.  Board 
of  America,  members  of  the  Board  of  Erin 
preferring  not  to  send  totals  by  States.     It 


should  be  added  tliat  both  branches  of  the 
Hibernians  are  now  united.  The  grouping 
includes,  in  addition  to  totals  for  the  Masonic 
Fraternity,  information  from  the  following 
charitable  and  benevolent  secret  societies  : 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Good  Templars,  Sons 
of  Temperance,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Red  Men,  Foresters  of 
America,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  Knights  of 
Malta,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons 
(negro),  and  Grand  United  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  (negro). 

Among  the  so-called  Patriotic  Orders, 
official  returns  have  been  received  from  the 
following  :  Junior  Order,  United  American 
Mechanics;  Order  of  United  American  Me- 
chanics ;  Patriotic  Order,  Sons  of  America  ; 
Order  of  the  American  Union,  and  Ameri- 
can Protective  Association  (A.  P.  A.) 

Statistics  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry 
have  also  been  included,  as  well  as  details 
respecting  membership  of  the  following 
death  and  other  benefit  societies  :  Ancient 
Order  of  United  "Workmen,  Royal  Arcanum, 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  Knights  of 
the  Maccabees,  Knights  of  Honor,  Knights 
and  Ladies  of  Honor,  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Eagle,  and  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

Figures  furnished  by  the  American  Pro- 
tective Association  and  the  Order  of  the 
American  LTnion  are  official,  but  do  not 
seem  to  be  sufficiently  in  accord  with  the 
situation  to  be  of  great  value  for  compari- 
son. Omitting  totals  for  these  two  organi- 
zations, it  is  found  that  twenty-four  of  the 
more  important  secret  fraternities,  out  of 
nearly  350  having  an  active  existence, 
numbered  4,548,840  members  in  the  L^nited 
States  in  1895-96.  It  is  probable  that  with 
tlie  added  membership  of  more  than  three 
hundred  others,  many  of  them  small  socie- 
ties, the  grand  total  would  approximate 
0,000,000,  thus  pointing  to  nearly  4,000,000 
adults,  members  of  secret  fraternities  in 
the  L^nited  States,  after  allowing  for  the 
usual  {)ro])ortion  belonging  to  two  or  more 


FRATERNAL   ORDERS 


115 


lo-day  may  be  divided  into  four  general 
classes  : 

(1)  Those  which  bind  themselves  to 
bury  their  dead,  and  to  furnish  stated  relief 
to  members  who  may  be  sick,  disabled,  etc., 
irrespective  of  the  need  of  such  members 
for  pecuniary  assistance  ; 

(2)  Regular  death  benefit,  mutual  assess- 
ment societies  ; 

(3)  Death  benefit  orders  of  the  short- 
term  variety,  which  seek  to  couple  mutual 
assessment  life-insurance  with  the  tontine 
plan  and  pay  back  to  surviving  members 
who  shall  have  made  regular  payments, 
etc.,  for  a  certain  number  of  years,  the  full 
amount  of  their  assessments,  or  premiums, 
in  some  instances  with  interest  added.  The 
success  which  temporarily  attended  a  few  of 
the  better-known  short-term  orders  which 
are  dead,  appeared  to  be  due  to  surviving 
members  being  relatively  few,  and  lapsed 
memberships  comparatively  numerous. 

(4)  The  fourth  group  is  not  a  large  one, 
comprising  the  few  orders  whicii  have 
sought  to  render  the  Building  and  Loan 
Association  more  attractive  by  reason  of 
becoming  a  secret  order. 

The  accompanying  tabular  exhibit  of 
statistics  of  membership  of  twenty-six  of  the 
larger  and  more  important  national  and 
international  secret  societies  in  the  United 
States,  with  totals  arranged  by  States  and 
Territories,  in  conjunction  with  those  of 
membership  abroad,  must  prove  of  interest 
to  members  of  the  organizations  named,  as 
well  as  to  students  of  the  sociological  aspects 
of  the  growth  and  development  of  secret 
societies.  This  presentation  has  been  pre- 
pared after  prolonged  correspondence  with 
those  best  fitted  to  con  tribute  data,  and  repre- 
sents the  latest  available  comparative  totals 
of  all  the  organizations.  The  Loyal  Orange 
Institution  is  omitted  because  of  its  i)refer- 
ence  not  to  make  public  details  as  to  mem- 
bership. Totals  for  the  Ancient  Order  of 
Hibernians  refer  to  only  one  branch.  Board 
of  America,  members  of  the  Board  of  Erin 
preferring  not  to  send  totals  by  States.     It 


should  be  added  that  both  branches  of  the 
Hibernians  are  now  united.  The  grouping 
includes,  in  addition  to  totals  for  the  Masonic 
Fraternity,  information  from  the  following 
charitable  and  benevolent  secret  societies  : 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Good  Templars,  Sons 
of  Temperance,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Red  Men,  Foresters  of 
America,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  Knights  of 
Malta,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons 
(negro),  and  Grand  United  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  (negro). 

Among  the  so-called  Patriotic  Orders, 
official  returns  have  been  received  from  the 
following  :  Junior  Order,  United  American 
Mechanics;  Order  of  United  American  Me- 
chanics ;  Patriotic  Order,  Sons  of  America  ; 
Order  of  the  American  Union,  and  Ameri- 
can Protective  Association  (A.  P.  A.) 

Statistics  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry 
have  also  been  included,  as  well  as  details 
respecting  membership  of  the  following 
death  and  other  benefit  societies  :  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen,  Royal  Arcanum, 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  Knig^its  of 
the  Maccabees,  Knights  of  Honor,  Knights 
and  Ladies  of  Honor,  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Eagle,  and  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

Figures  furnished  by  the  American  Pro- 
tective Association  and  the  Order  of  the 
American  Union  are  official,  but  do  not 
seem  to  be  sufficiently  in  accord  with  the 
situation  to  be  of  great  value  for  compari- 
son. Omitting  totals  for  these  two  organi- 
zations, it  is  found  that  twenty-four  of  the 
more  important  secret  fraternities,  out  of 
nearly  350  having  an  active  existence, 
numbered  4,548,840  members  in  the  United 
States  in  1895-9G.  It  is  probable  that  with 
the  added  membership  of  more  than  three 
hundred  others,  many  of  them  small  socie- 
ties, the  grand  total  would  approximate 
G,000,000,  thus  pointing  to  nearly  4,000,000 
adults,  members  of  secret  fraternities  in 
the  United  States,  after  allowing  for  the 
usual  proportion  belonging  to  two  or  more 


116 


FRATERNAL   ORDERS 


organizations;  nearly  one  in  three  of  the 
voting  population  of  the  country. 

The  relative  numerical  strength  of  the 
four  larger  societies  in  the  various  States 
and  Territories  is  made  plain  by  an  accom- 
panying map  (see  Preface),  on  which  their 
names  are  marked  in  order,  according  to 
membership  in  those  States  and  Territories. 
Eeference  to  tlie  geographical  chart  shows 
that  there  are  more  members  of  the  Masonic 
than  of  any  other  secret  fraternity  in  Maine, 
Vermont,  Connecticut,  New  York,  Ken- 
tucky, Missouri,  District  of  Columbia,  Vir- 
ginia, North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Ten- 
nessee, Florida,  Alabama,  Mississippi, 
Arkansas,  and  Indian  Territory  ;  and  more 
members  of  the  Odd  Fellows  in  Massachu- 
setts, Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jer- 
sey, West  Virginia,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Iowa, 
Wyoming,  Colorado,  Oklahoma,  Washing- 
ton, California,  and  Nevada  ;  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen  in  Delaware, 
Minnesota,  North  Dakota,  South  Dakota, 
Montana,  Idaho,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Oregon, 
and  Arizona ;  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
in  Louisiana  and  New  Mexico;  of  the 
Patrons  of  Husbandry  in  New  Hampshire; 
Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechan- 
ics in  Maryland;  Knights  of  the  Maccabees 
in  Michigan;  Modern  Woodmen  of  America 
in  Illinois  and  Wisconsin;  and  the  negro 
Freemasons  in  Ceorgia.  Other  societies 
finding  a  place  among  the  first  four  in  point 
of  number,  in  one  or  more  States,  are  the 
Grood  Templars;  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub- 
lic; Foresters  of  America;  Royal  Arcanum; 
Patriotic  Order,  Sons  of  America;  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men;  Knights  of  Honor; 
and  the  negro  Odd  Fellows. 

Pennsylvania  is  the  banner  secret  society 
State,  contributing  more  than  850,000  mem- 
bers of  twenty-four  organizations  w'hose 
totals  are  considered  in  the  accompanying 
statistics  of  membership,  19  per  cent,  of  the 
grand  total  in  all  States  and  Territories. 
New  York  stands  second,  with  724,000 
members  of  the  twenty-four  fraternities,  16 
per  cent,  of  the  grand  total  for  the  country ; 


Illinois  third,  with  more  than  513,000  mem» 
bers,  or  about  11  per  cent.;  Ohio  fourth, 
with  10  per  cent.;  Massachusetts  fifth,  Avith 
8  per  cent. ;  Michigan  sixth,  with  more  than 
7  per  cent. ;  and  Indiana  seventh,  with  7  per 
cent.,  the  seven  States  accounting  for  four- 
fifths  of  the  aggregate  American  member- 
ship of  the  twenty-four  fraternities  speci- 
fied. 

The  payment  of  benefits  or  insurance  by 
means  of  assessments,  graded  according  to 
age  at  time  of  joining,  is  apparently  (1898) 
most  popular  among  societies  in  the  Frater- 
nal Congress.  Of  the  forty-five  fraternities 
reports  have  been  received  from  thirty-six,  of 
which  twenty-seven  report  the  above  plan  in 
operation,  eight  of  the  remaining  nine 
being  equally  divided  between  the  merits  of 
the  premium  system  proper  and  what  may 
be  called  the  step-rate  plan  of  assessment,  in- 
creasing at  regular  intervals  with  the  age  of 
the  insured.  In  the  remaining  society  the 
benefits  are  graded  according  to  the  age, 
while  the  assessments  are  fixed  and  uniform. 
The  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen 
reports  twenty-one  jurisdictions  using  the 
straight,  ungraded  assessment  j^lan  and  thir- 
teen the  step-rate  assessment.  The  Order 
of  United  Friends  changed  on  January  1, 
1898,  to  the  step  or  group  plan  of  assess- 
ment, increasing  at  each  five  years.  Two 
other  societies  are  considering  a  similar 
change.  There  is  some  variation  in  the 
amount  of  insurance  paid.  A  benefit  of 
from  $50  to  $2,000  is  paid  by  the  Knights" 
and  Ladies  of  the  Clolden  Star,  while  tlie 
Catholic  Benevolent  Legion,  the  National 
Provident  Union,  the  Home  Circle,  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Foresters,  the  American 
Legion  of  Honor,  the  National  Union,  and 
the  Improved  Order  of  Heptasophs  pay  from 
$500  to  $5,000.  Seven  out  of  thirty-six  or- 
ders report  paying  sick  benefits;  nine  others 
report  such  benefits  optional  with  the  local 
or  subordinate  bodies;  while  nineteen,  or 
more  than  one-half,  report  none.  In  the 
majority  of  cases  where  paid,  such  benefits 
are   the   result   of    the   work    of   the   local 


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118 


FRATERNAL   ORDERS 


bodies,  and  are  not  part  of  fhe  duty  of  the 
parent  societies.  More  than  one-half  of 
these  societies  report  varying  grades  of  bene- 
fits payable  in  case  of  accident  involving 
partial  or  total  disability,  such  as  the  loss  of 
one  or  more  limbs  or  eyes,  incapacity  from 
old  age  (seventy  years  being  a  common 
period),  paralysis,  or  other  causes.  The 
payment  of  one-tenth  to  one-half  of  the 
face  of  the  member's  benefit  certificate  upon 
the  occurrence  of  any  of  these  disabilities 
seems  quite  general.  Payment  of  funeral 
expenses  is  a  feature  of  several  societies,  but 
almost  always  of  local  lodges  or  bodies.  Six- 
teen out  of  thirty-six  societies  report  no 
benefits  payable  by  reason  of  total  or  partial 
disability.  The  replies  indicate  that  weekly 
sick  benefits  are  often  payable  out  of  dues 
of  local  lodges,  whereas  the  other  benefits 
are  more  generally  defrayed  by  means  of 
assessments. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  the  rate  of 
mortality  in  thirty  societies  during  the  third 
year  of  the  existence  of  each  of  them  aver- 
aged 4.10  per  1,000,  while  during  the  last 
fiscal  year  (1897)  the  average  death-rate  per 
1,000  was  '9.50,  and  the  average  age  of  the 
societies  showing  this  death-rate  about  fif- 
teen years.  In  twenty-eight  societies  the 
average  cost  per  11,000  for  such  benefits 
paid  in  1897  was  19.22,  whereas  the  same 
companies  reported  the  cost  when  those  so- 
cieties were  only  three  years  of  age  at  15.04. 
The  need  of  an  adequate  reserve  to  provide 
for  emergencies  does  not  seem  to  have  im- 
pressed all  of  these  societies  alike.  Only 
about  one-half  of  tiie  fraternities,  members  of 
the  Congress,  report  having  reserve  funds. 
The  method  of  raising  such  funds  varies 
with  the  societies,  but  generally  it  is  by 
means  of  assessments  upon  members.  Some 
organizations  set  apart  a  certain  percentage 
of  such  assessments  as  a  reserve  fund.  In 
Massachusetts  and  other  States  the  banking 
laws,  under  which  insurance  societies  oper- 
ate, require  reserve  funds  and  direct  how 
they  shall  be  invested.  The  American  Le- 
gion of  Honor  has  a  reserve  of  1500,000  in- 


vested as  provided  by  law.  The  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen  raise  $1,000,000 
annually  by  a  tax  of  13  per  member.  Some 
societies  have  a  reserve  in  the  shape  of  one 
assessment  in  advance.  As  a  general  thing 
the  reserve,  where  possessed,  is  invested  in 
United  States  or  State  and  municipal  bonds 
and  first  mortgages  on  real  estate.  The  Or- 
der of  Select  Friends  adopted  a  reserve  plan 
at  the  close  of  1897.  The  National  Keserve 
Association  plan  of  insurance  is  very  like 
that  of  old-line  companies,  except  for  the 
reserve  element  in  the  latter's  premiums. 
Average  age  of  death  benefit  members  in 
tAventy-four  societies  at  the  end  of  the  first 
three  years  of  the  societies'  existence  is 
placed  at  about  36.40,  while  the  average 
age  in  the  same  societies  in  the  last  fiscal 
year  is  placed  at  40.30,  showing  the  intro- 
duction of  younger  members.  The  replies 
as  to  cost  of  management  show  an  increase 
per  capita  as  the  societies  advance  in  years. 
The  average  of  the  replies  of  twenty-seven 
fraternities  shows  that  the  per  capita  cost 
of  management  during  the  last  year  was 
about  II.  65  per  member,  whereas  when 
these  societies  were  three  years  old  their  per 
capita  cost  was  only  11.48.  Some  societies 
reckon  the  cost  of  management  per  mem- 
ber as  a  fixed  sum  and  report  it  year  after 
year.  Others,  like  the  Royal  Arcanum,  the 
Royal  League,  the  Modern  "Woodmen  of 
America,  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees, 
Legion  of  the  Red  Cross,  Knights  and 
Ladies  of  Security,  Woodmen  of  the  World, 
National  Reserve  Association,  and  the  Na- 
tional Union  show  a  decreased  cost  of  man- 
agement per  member  now  as  compared  with 
the  third  year  of  their  existence. 

The  irregularity  and  iucompleteness  of 
replies  received  from  beneficiary  organiza- 
tions not  members  of  the  Fraternal  Con- 
gress is  testimony  to  the  value  of  organi- 
zation in  fraternal  insurance  as  well  as  in 
other  lines  of  business.  There  are,  of  course, 
some  honorable  exceptions,  but  the  statistics 
of  operation  of  these  organizations  are  not 
generally  satisfactory.     Among  fraternities 


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120 


FRATERNAL   ORDERS 


not  members  of  the  Fraternal  Congress  the 
popularity  of  the  "assessment  according  to 
age"  plan  is  shown  by  their  records.  Of 
the  thirty  societies  reporting,  seventeen  are 
using  the  plan.  The  following  is  a  list  of 
them : 

Canadian  Order  of  Foresters. 

Catholic  Mutual  Benefit  Association. 

Catholic  Women's  Benevolent  Legion. 

Commercial  Travelers'  Association. 

Golden  Star  Fraternity. 

Independent  Order  B'nai  B'rith. 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor. 

Knights  of  Columbus. 

Knights  of  Pythias,  Endowment  Eank. 

Loyal  Knights  and  Ladies, 

Modern  American  Fraternal  Order. 

Mystic  Workers  of  the  Woi'ld. 

National  Fraternity. 

Grand  United  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Order  of  Scottish  Clans. 

Union  Fraternal  League. 

AVestern  Knights  Protective  Association. 

Among  the  above  the  amount  of  benefits 
paid  varies  from  150  to  13,000,  most  of 
them  paying  $500  to  12,000.  Twelve  of 
them  report  no  benefits  paid  by  the  Order 
as  a  whole,  the  same  being  optional  Avith 
subordinate  bodies.  Partial  and  permanent 
disability  is  provided  for,  hoAvever,  by  many 
of  these  societies.  A  tendency  toward  an 
increased  death-rate  as  they  grow  older  is 
noted,  and  a  similar  increase  in  the  cost  of 
this  form  of  insurance  per  thousand.  Dues 
of  local  branches  seem  to  be  the  basis  of 
the  sick  benefits,  while  regular  assessments 
are  general!}^  relied  on  to  defray  other  bene- 
fits. About  one-half  of  these  organizations 
report  reserve  or  emergency  funds;  statis- 
tics of  age  and  cost  of  management  are  very 
i  ncomplete. 

The  same  general  conclusions  are  to  be 
obtained  from  an  examination  of  the  statis- 
tics of  similar  societies  doing  business  under 
different  plans.  Two,  the  American  Insur- 
ance Union  and  the  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Eagle,  use  the  step-rate  assessment,  while 
the    Fraternal    Tribunes,    the    Progressive 


Endowment  Guild,  and  the  Prudent  Patri- 
cians of  Pompeii  collect  insurance  premiums 
suggestive  of  a  revival  of  the  systems  used 
by  old-line  companies.  The  Independent 
Order  Free  Sons  of  Israel,  Independent  Or- 
der Sons  of  Abraham,  Independent  Order 
Sons  of  Benjamin,  and  the  Order  of  Sparta 
pay  benefits  by  means  of  uniform,  straight, 
ungraded  assessments,  Avhile  in  the  Order 
of  the  Iroquois  and  in  the  Brotherhood  of 
Eailway  Conductors,  benefits  and  not  assess- 
ments or  contributions' are  graded  accord- 
ing to  age.  The  Continental  Fraternal 
Union  is  an  endowment  association,  while 
the  Foresters  of  America,  which  formerly 
had  such  a  plan,  has  discontinued  it.  The 
Grand  Fraternity  is  unique  in  that  it  pays 
annuities  for  partial  or  total  disability,  or 
to  Avidows  and  orphans  or  other  relatives  at 
the  death  of  members. 

Among  the  distinctively  friendly  socie- 
ties, those  Avhich  aim  to  relieve  distress  and 
pay  funeral  expenses  among  members,  and 
to  assist  those  whom  death  has  robbed  of 
support,  are  the  following: 

Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

United  Ancient  Order  of  Druids. 

Ancient  Order  of  Foresters. 

Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians. 

Jr.  Order  United  American  Mechanics. 

Actors'  Order  of  Friendship. 

Independent  Order  of  Mechanics. 

Improved  Order  of  Red  Men. 

Sons  of  St.  George. 

National  Protective  Society. 

Shepherds  of  Bethlehem. 

Ancient  and  Ilhistrious  Order  of  Knights 
of  Malta. 

In  only  one  instance,  the  Sons  of  St. 
George,  and  then  in  only  a  few  States,  does 
the  benefit  paid  at  the  death  of  a  member 
exceed  $250;  In  one  instance,  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Mechanics,  the  amount 
paid  falls  as  low  as  120,  and  runs  as  high  as 
125.  In  the  instances  of  the  Ancient  Order 
of  Hibernians,  the  Ancient  and  Illustrious 
Order  of  Knights  of  Malta,  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men,  the  Independent  Order 


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122 


AMERICAN  BENEFIT  SOCIETY 


of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Ancient  United 
Order  of  Druids  the  governing  body  does 
not  recognize  the  payment  of  either  insur- 
ance or  death  benefits.  Subordinate  lodges, 
courts,  groves,  or  tribes  employ  a  death 
benefit  system  in  whole  or  in  part.  In 
some  States  a  few  of  these  organizations, 
notably  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  in 
Pennsylvania,  contract  for  insurance  with 
regular  insurance  companies.  The  sick 
benefit,  weekly,  monthly,  or  otherwise,  is  a 
recognized  institution  among  the  societies 
named,  and  where  systematically  paid  varies 
from  $2  to  $15  weekly.  Medical  attendance 
and  medicines  are  paid  for  by  subordinate 
bodies  of  some  of  these  societies,  while  the 
payment  of  specific  sums  for  burial  ex- 
penses is  general.  The  ISTational  Protective 
Society  jmys  an  accident  benefit.  Eaising 
these  funds  is  provided  for  generally  from 
dues,  although  a  few  of  the  societies  rely 
upon  assessments.  The  necessity  for  ac- 
cumulating a  reserve  or  emergency  fund  is 
recognized  in  at  least  one  half  of  the  frater- 
nities named,  but  in  others  dependence  seems 
to  be  placed  on  the  weekly  or  other  dues  and 
assessments.  In  the  Ancient  Order  of  For- 
esters, in  which  dues  are  graded  according 
to  age  at  entry,  its  various  treasurers  held 
at  the  close  of  1896  $29,137,745,  an  increase 
of  $1,052,595  in  that  year.  The  Actors' 
Order  of  Friendship,  from  the  circumstances 
of  the  case  a  small  society,  reports  $20,000 
in  the  treasury.  Statistics  of  the  death  rate 
per  thousand  and  cost  of  insurance  among 
these  friendly  societies  are  naturally  affected 
by  the  irregular  nature  of  the  benefits  paid 
and  systems  of  dues  and  assessments,  and  are 
therefore  unclassifiable. 

American  Benefit  Society. — This  is 
one  of  the  smaller  mutual  assessment  bene- 
ficiary fraternities  ;  but  although  incor- 
porated as  late  as  1893,  by  Cliarles  H.  Burr, 
George  B.  Stevens,  Lewis  N.  Qushman, 
Geoi'ge  H.  Johnson,  Daniel  T.  Buzzell,  Ja- 
cob Billings,  Jr.,  and  Samuel  Shaw,  of 
Massachusetts,  it  already  numbers  nearly 
five  thousand  members,  and  is  growing  rap- 


idly. It  issues  certificates  to  members  for 
$250,  $500,  $1,000,  or  $2,000,  and  Lodges 
pay  weekly  sick  benefits,  and  dues  and  as- 
sessments of  members  while  sick,  in  their 
option.  Its  method  of  assessment  to  meet 
death  benefits  is  approved  by  some  of  the 
best  fraternal  actuaries  in  the  country,  and, 
as  in  only  one  of  two  other  instances  among 
like  organizations,  a  formal  initiation  is  not 
necessary  to  acquire  membership.  The  cere- 
mony of  initiation  is  said  to  be  simple,  yet 
dignified,  but  those  who  prefer  may  take  the 
obligation  before  a  supreme  officer  and  se- 
cure membership  as  effectually  as  at  a  reg- 
ular meeting.  Men  and  women  between  the 
ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five,  who  may  be 
socially  acceptable,  believers  in  a  Supreme 
Being,  and  able  to  earn  a  livelihood,  are 
eligible  to  membership.  The  organization 
will  not  enter  any  except  the  more  health- 
ful regions  of  northern  States,  and  at  pres- 
ent has  Lodges  in  all  the  New  England 
States.  Its  i^ublished  list  of  some  of  its 
better  known  certificate  holders  includes 
governors  of  States  and  a  long  list  of  State, 
national,  and  municipal  officials.  There  are 
also  found  the  names  of  prominent  officers 
of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen, 
Knights  of  Honor,  Eoyal  Arcanum,  Eoyal 
Society  of  Good  Fellows,  Workmen's  Bene- 
fit Association,  Improved  Order  of  Hepta- 
sophs,  American  Legion  of  Honor,  Good 
Templars,  Order  of  the  Golden  Cross,  Im- 
proved Order  of  Eed  Men,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  Freemasons. 
The  list  of  lawyers,  physicians,  bank  offi- 
cials, editors,  publishers,  and  business  men 
throughout  New  England  who  are  identified 
with  the  Society  would  prove  an  addition  to 
any  similar  organization.  The  headquar- 
ters of  the  society  are  at  Boston. 

American  Benevolent  Legion. — A 
newly  organized  mutual  assessment  bene- 
ficiary society,  with  headquarters  at  San 
Francisco. 

American  Fraternal  Insurance 
Union. — Organized  at  Batavia,  N.  Y., 
within  the  past  few  years,  a  beneficiary  and 


AMERICAN   LEGION   OF   HONOR 


123 


social  association  for  men  and  women.  Its 
Lodges  are  scattered  through  western  New 
York. 

Auiericau  Insurance  Union. — Organ- 
ized at  Columbus,  0.,  1894,  by  members  of 
the  Fraternal  Mystic  Circle,  who  were  dis- 
satisfied with  the  course  pursued  by  the 
latter,  as  well  as  by  members  of  the  Na- 
tional Union,  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
the  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Masonic  Frater- 
nity. It  partially  paralleled  the  increasing 
rate  of  assessments,  according  to  age, 
which  had  done  so  much  to  build  up  and 
strengthen  the  National  Union,  and  provides 
for  death,  total  disability,  and  old  age  bene- 
fits. The  form  of  government  is  the  usual 
one  in  similar  secret  beneficiary  societies, 
and  includes  local  and  State  Chapters,  to- 
gether with  a  National  (or  supreme)  Chapter, 
the  highest  legislative  authority.  Member- 
ship is  confined  to  men  and  women  between 
15  and  49  years  of  age,  residing  in  the 
more  healthful  portions  of  the  United 
States,  ''  who  are  engaged  in  preferred  oc- 
cupations." Death  benefits  of  sums  rang- 
ing from  1500  to  ^3,000,  permanent  total 
disability  benefits  of  from  $250  to  $1,500, 
and  old  age  benefits  of  like  amounts  arc 
paid,  and  the  Union  is  under  the  super- 
yision  of  the  insurance  department  of  the 
State  of  Ohio.  The  ritual  teaches  ''All 
for  one  and  one  for  all,"  which  suggests  the 
motto  of  the  Knights  of  Labor,  but  is  in- 
terpreted differently.  The  emblem  consists 
of  a  circular  band  containing  thirteen  stars, 
and  in  them  the  letters  forming  the  words 
"Helj)  in  Need,"  the  whole  surrounding 
the  initial  letters  of  the  name  of  the  organ- 
ization. While  among  the  younger  of  sim- 
ilar societies,  the  Union,  which  started  out 
with  500  members,  has  enjoyed  rapid  in- 
crease in  membership  and  gives  promise  of 
realizing  the  anticipations  of  those  who 
created  it. 

American  Order  of  I>ruids. — Organ- 
ized by  William  Pearson  and  William  A. 
Dunn,  at  Fall  Kiver,  Mass.,  and  chartered 
Mav  17,  1888,  under  the  laws  of  the  State 


of  Massachusetts.  Its  first  Council  was 
organized  at  Fall  River,  July  9,  1888.  It 
forms  one  of  several  secret,  fraternal,  bene- 
ficiary organizations  to  which  men  and 
women  are  both  eligible,  which  confine 
their  operations  to  the  New  England  States. 
Among  its  founders  were  members  of  the 
Grand  United  Order  of  Druids  in  the 
United  States,  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  and  the  United  Order  of 
Pilgrim  Fathers.  It  pays  sick  and  death 
benefits  by  means  of  assessments.  It  has 
2,300  members. 

American  Ijegion  of  Honor. — One  of 
the  best  known  among  the  larger  and  more 
popular  fraternal,  social,  and  beneficiary 
assessment  societies,  founded  by  Dr.  Darius 
Wilson  and  nine  others  of  Boston,  Decem- 
ber 18,  1878.  It  admits  to  membership 
white  men  and  women,  between  18  and  50 
years  of  age,  and  is  governed  by  a  Supreme 
Council.  Subordinate  Councils,  which  are 
widely  scattered  throughout  the  Union,  are 
directed  in  matters  of  local  interest  by 
Grand  or  State  Councils,  representatives 
from  which,  and  all  Past  Supreme  Com- 
manders, make  up  the  Supreme  Council. 
The  ritualistic  and  initiatory  features  are 
less  pronounced  than  those  of  most  similar 
societies  in  the  United  States.  Prospective 
members  are  informed  that  initiatory  cere- 
monies, if  objected  to,  may  be  dispensed 
with  by  assuming  a  formal  obligation  at 
any  convenient  time  and  place.  Originally 
the  maximum  age  of  eligibility  to  member- 
ship was  G4  years,  but  this  was  reduced  to 
50  years  in  1885.  The  Order  insures  the 
lives  of  its  members  for  $1,000,  $2,000,  and 
$3,000  each,  at  their  o])tion,  certificates 
of  which  carry  a  graduated  weekly  relief 
benefit.  Some  of  the  founders  were  among 
those  who  organized  the  Royal  Arcanum, 
and  one.  Dr.  Wilson,  was  connected  with 
the  Knights  of  Honor.  Since  its  founda- 
tion the  Order  has  paid  more  than  $30,000,- 
000  in  death  and  relief  benefits.  The  pro- 
portion of  women  to  men  among  its  mem- 
bershij)  in  1894  was  about  as  one  to  seven. 


124 


ANCIENT   ORDER,  KNIGHTS   OF   THE   MYSTIC   CHAIN 


The  American  Legion  of  Honor  suffered 
from  increased  expenses,  death  rate,  and  lack 
of  new  members  during  1895  and  1896,  as 
did  some  other  similar  organizations.  Mem- 
bers accounted  for  the  situation  by  ''  un- 
usually heavy  assessments  in  1896,"  owing 
to  ''increased  debts,"  the  ^'hard  times," 
and  a  "smaller  proportion  of  new  mem- 
bers," which  a  grand  total  of  36,028  mem- 
bers December  31,  1896,  compared  witb 
53,210  on  December  31,  1895,  and  62,457 
at  the  close  of  1889  (the  maximum),  would 
seem  to  confirm.  Leading  members  of  the 
Supreme  Council  are  men  of  experience  in 
fraternal  insurance  societies,  and  with  co- 
operation from  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
Order  were  able  to  so  conduct  the  society's 
affairs  as  to  restore  the  prosperity  the  or- 
ganization previously  enjoyed.  The  chief 
emblem  of  the  Legion  is  a  modification  of 
the  cross  of  the  French  Legion  of  Honor, 
which  has  the  Maltese  Cross  for  its  model, 
and  has  been  conspicuous,  under  various 
forms,  as  the  basis  of  so  many  decorations. 
In  1879,  the  year  following  the  founding 
of  the  American  Legion  of  Honor,  the  Iowa 
Legion  of  Honor,  a  similar  society,  was  or- 
ganized at  Cedar  Eapids,  and  does  busi- 
ness in  that  State  only.  In  1884  the 
Northwestern  Legion  of  Honor  was  organ- 
ized and  incorporated  to  do  business  in 
Iowa,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Minnesota,  North 
and  South  Dakota. 

Ancient  Order,  Knights  of  the  Mys- 
tic Chain. — This  secret  organization  is  con- 
spicuous among  the  hundred-and-one  of  the 
last  generation  by  reason  of  its  not  having 
been  started  as  a  mutual  insurance  society. 
Its  high-sounding  title  becomes  simpler 
when  it  is  realized  that  this  modern  broth- 
erhood is  founded  on  traditions  and  fancies 
which  hedge  themselves  about  King  Arthur 
and  the  Knights  of  the  Eound  Table, 
whence  the  designation,  "  Ancient  Order." 
One  is  compelled  to  compare  it  with  the 
Order  of  Foresters  rather  than  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows, for  the  basis  of  the  rituals  of  the  first 
two  are  found  in  English  romance,  and  are 


beautiful,  popular,  and  attractive.  Both 
Odd  Fellows  and  Foresters'  societies  have 
similar  purposes,  and  differ  from  Freema- 
sonry. The  point  to  this  lies  in  the  resem- 
blance of  the  Ancient  Order,  Knights  of 
the  Mystic  Chain  to  the  Odd  Fellows  and 
Foresters,  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  it  is 
the  creation  of  Freemasons,  and  bears  many 
imprints  of  the  handiwork  of  the  Craft. 
Not  until  eighteen  years  after  it  was  founded 
did  the  Sir  Knights  of  the  Mystic  Chain 
incorporate  an  insurance  feature  like  those 
adopted  by  so  many  other  secret  societies 
founded  in  the  past  thirty*  years.  The 
Ancient  Order,  Knights  of  the  Mystic  Chain 
was  founded  at  Eeading,  Pa.,  February  2, 
1871,  by  John  0.  Matthew,  locomotive  en- 
gineer on  the  Philadelphia  and  Eeading 
Eailroad,  and  John  M.  Brown,  merchant. 
John  0.  Matthew  was  alive  in  1897,  blind 
and  helpless,  the  charge  of  subordinate  Cas- 
tles of  Pennsylvania.  John  M.  Brown  died 
June  10,  1880.  Both  founders  were  Free- 
masons, and  the  emblem  of  the  Order,  em- 
bodying the  All-Seeing  Eye  over  the  holy 
Bible  upon  an  altar,  suggests  the  earlier 
influences  surrounding  it,  yet  at  the  first 
initiation  ceremony  twenty-one  Knights 
of  Pythias  became  Knights  of  the  Mystic 
Chain. 

The  purposes  of  the  Order  are  to  relieve 
brethren  in  sickness,  accident,  or  distress  ; 
mutual  assistance  in  business  and  to  procure 
employment ;  to  assist  and  care  for  widows 
and  orphans  of  deceased  members  ;  to  create 
greater  love  for  country,  homes,  and  fire- 
sides ;  to  teach  obedience  and  fidelity  to  the 
laws  of  the  country  in  which  they  live,  and 
to  bind  together  the  members  of  the  Order 
in  one  common  brotherhood.  Partisanship 
and  sectarianism  are  excluded.  The  motto 
or  ensign  is  "  Loyalty,  Obedience,  and  Fi- 
delity ;"  and  the  ''mark"  is  a  pentagon, 
bearing  on  each  of  its  sides  an  inverted  lower 
half  of  an  isosceles  triangle,  the  whole  sug- 
gesting one  form  of  a  Maltese  cross  of  five 
arms.  This  furnishes  five  distinct  fields,  in 
the  first  of  which,  white,  is  an  open  book ; 


ANCIENT   ORDER,  KNIGHTS   OF   THE   MYSTIC   CHAIN 


125 


in  the  second,  blue,  a  shield  and  spear  ;  in 
the  third,  red,  skull  and  cross  bones  ;  in  the 
fourth,  red.  crossed  swords  ;  in  the  fifth, 
black,  tlie  All-Seeing  Eye  ;  and  in  the 
centre,  letters,  the  meaning  of  which  is 
known  only  to  Mark  degree  members.  On 
the  reverse,  in  the  centre  field  is  an  em- 
bossed castle,  which  is  the  mark  of  the 
highest  rank.  There  are  slight  changes  for 
those  lower  in  rank  or  degree. 

The  Order  has  four  branches,  all  of  which 
are  subordinate  to  the  Supreme  Castle. 
They  are,  first,  the  civic  branch,  with  the 
Supreme  Castle,  Select  (State)  Castles,  and 
subordinate  Castles,  which  initiate  mem- 
bers ;  second,  the  military  rank,  or  degree  ; 
third,  the  insurance  benefit  fund ;  and, 
fourth,  the  degree  of  Naomi,  or  Daughters 
of  Ruth.  Subordinate  Castles  send  two 
Past  Commanders  yearly  as  representatives 
to  Select  Castles.  Every  Past  Commander 
is  a  member  of  a  Select  Castle,  but  has  no 
vote  on  questions  of  law,  unless  elected  a 
representative.  Past  Commanders  of  subor- 
dinate Castles  vote  for  a  Past  Select  Com- 
mander as  representative  to  the  Sujjreme 
Castle.  Each  State  is  allowed  one  represen- 
tative to  the  Supreme  Castle  for  every  one 
thousand  members,  but  no  State  can  elect 
more  than  ten  such.  The  Supreme  Castle, 
of  course,  is  the  highest  authority  in  the 
Order. 

Three  degrees  are  conferred  in  subordi- 
nate Castles,  which  every  member  must  re- 
ceive in  order  to  participate  in  the  benefit 
fund  :  1.  White,  or  Esquire  degree  ;  2. 
Blue,  or  Sir  Knight's  degree  ;  and  3.  Red, 
or  Round  Table  degree.  The  fourth  degree 
is  only  for  those  who  wish  to  connect  them- 
selves Avith  the  military  rank.  All  past 
officers  of  subordinate  Castles  receive  from 
the  Select  Castle  a  Past  Commander's  or 
Mark  degree,  which  puts  them  in  possessio7i 
of  the  essentials  to  gain  admission  to  the  Se- 
lect Castle,  and  after  they  shall  have  passed 
through  the  chairs  makes  them  members 
of  the  State  Body.  The  Supreme  Castle 
confers  the  Supreme  degree,  which  makes 


recipients  members  of  the  Supreme  Castle, 
but  without  a  vote,  unless  elected  represen- 
tatives. While  there  is  nothing  Masonic 
in  this  arrangement,  yet  Freemasons  prob- 
ably helped  to  j)lan  it. 

In  the  Esquire  degree  the  candidate  is 
instructed  in  the  fundamental  principles  of 
the  Order  by  a  reference  to  the  Good  Samar- 
itan ;  in  the  Sir  Knight's  degree,  in  the 
lesson  to  be  learned  from  the  chivalry  of 
the  time  of  King  Artliur,  and  the  im{)or- 
tance  of  exercising  love,  mercy,  friendship, 
benevolence,  and  charity  toward  his  fellow- 
men  ;  while  in  the  third,  or  Round  Table 
degree,  the  candidate  is  impressed  with  the 
uncertainty  of  life  and  the  certainty  of 
death. 

On  Februaiy  2,  1871,  Matthew  Castle, 
No.  1,  was  instituted  at  Reading,  Pa.,  being 
named  after  one  of  the  founders.  On  July 
17th,  the  same  year,  the  First  Select  Castle 
was  instituted  at  Reading,  and'  on  Septem- 
ber 16,  187  L,  the  Su])reme  Castle  of  the  Or- 
der was  instituted  at  the  same  city.  For 
a  time  progress  was  slow,  due  in  part  to  the 
financial  dejiression  following  the  panic  of 
1873.  But  ten  years  later,  when  the  Select 
Castle  of  Pennsylvania  met  for  the  second 
time  at  Reading,  there  were  sixty  subordi- 
inate  Castles  reported,  with  a  total  (Penn- 
sylvania) membership  of  2,500.  About 
that  time  the  Order  began  to  gain  strength 
in  New  Jersey  and  Delaware,  where  Select 
Castles  had  been  established,  and  by  1890 
Select  Castles  had  been  placed  in  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Rhode  Island,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  and 
Ohio.  There  are  also  Subordinate  Castles 
under  the  sujiervision  of  the  Supreme 
Castle  in  Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  New 
Hampshire,  Michigan,  Indiana,  and  Louisi- 
ana. The  Order  enters  its  second  quarter 
century  with  a  total  membership  of  about 
40,000,  of  which  10,000  are  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  about  1,000  in  the  six  States 
named  in  which  Castles  exist  by  authority 
of  the  Supreme  Castle,  leaving  about  24,000 
members    in   the   eio^ht    States   of    Rliode 


126 


ANCIENT   ORDER   OF   FORESTERS 


Island,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  AVest  Virginia,  and 
Ohio. 

The  military  rank  or  degree  was  intro- 
duced by  the  Supreme  Castle  in  1880,  but 
at  that  time  had  no  military  head,  and  was 
designed  merely  to  attract  members.  The 
plan  failed,  and  in  1889  the  Supreme  Castle 
elected  a  military  head  to  the  rank,  with  the 
title  of  Commander-General.  The  bodies 
were  no  longer  called  Commanderies,  the 
rank  being  jJatterned,  as  to  tactics  and  uni- 
form, after  the  United  States  Army.  Arms 
used  are  the  straight  sword  for  all  except 
mounted  officers,  who  carry  military  sabers. 
The  Commander-General,  who  must  be  a 
member  of  the  Supreme  Castle,  is  elected 
for  three  years  by  the  commissioned  officers 
of  the  several  States.  This  branch,  which 
is  now  firmly  established,  is  divided  into 
companies,  battalions,  regiments,  brigades, 
and  divisions.  It  is  "  the  only  military 
secret  organization  which  uses  the  United 
States  Army  tactics  exclusively,"  and  in- 
cludes five  regiments  and  three  battalions, 
forming  one  brigade,  and  seven  unattached 
companies,  with  a  total  membership,  Sep- 
tember, 1896,  of  1,680. 

The  insurance  feature  was  introduced  in 
1889,  and  is  known  as  the  Funeral  Benefit 
Belief  Fund.  It  is  controlled  by  officers 
and  a  Board  of  Directors  elected  by  the  Su- 
preme Castle,  who  report  annually  to  that 
body.  Participants  in  the  benefits  of  this 
fund  are  members  of  Castles  in  good  stand- 
ing and  health,  between  eighteen  and  fifty 
years  of  age,  and  women  members  of  the 
degree  of  Naomi,  between  sixteen  and  fifty 
years  of  age.  Assessments  are  twenty  cents 
each,  payable  monthly.  The  death  benefit 
is  eighty  per  cent,  of  one  assessment,  but  in 
no  case  shall  it  exceed  $5i50.  Of  the  re- 
mainder, 15  per  cent,  is  placed  in  the  gen- 
eral fund  and  5  per  cent,  in  the  sinking 
fund  to  be  invested  by  the  Board  of  Mana- 
gers. The  total  membership  in  this  depart- 
ment on  December  31,  1896,  was  2,278. 
Weekly  sick  benefits  paid  by  Castles  range 


from  four  to  ten  dollars.  At  the  death  of 
the  wife  of  a  member,  benefits  of  from 
thirty  to  one  hundred  dollars  are  paid  ;  and 
at  the  death  of  a  member,  benefits  of  from 
fifty  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

The  'Mady  degree,"  known  as  degree  of 
Naomi,  or  Daughters  of  Euth,  was  intro- 
duced in  1890.  Subordinate  bodies  are 
called  Assemblies.  This  degree  was  for- 
merly under  the  supervision  of  the  Supreme 
Castle,  but  its  growth  was  so  rapid  it  was 
thought  best  to  allow  members  to  legislate 
for  themselves.  Each  Assembly  now  elects 
a  Past  Commander,  representative  to  its 
Grand  (State)  Assembly,  and  each  Grand 
Assembly  elects  two  representatives  to  the 
Supreme  Castle  of  the  Ancient  Order, 
Knights  of  the  Mystic  Chain,  all  of  whom 
must  be  Past  Grand  Commanders.  They 
are  admitted  to  meetings  of  the  Supreme 
Castle  only  when  the  latter  is  working  or 
legislating  for  the  degree  of  Naomi.  This 
branch  is  established  in  Pennsylvania,  New 
York,  West  Virginia,  Virginia,  Ohio,  New 
Jersey,  Ehode  Island,  New  Hampshire,  and 
Delaware,  and  the  total  membership  is 
3,500.  Weekly  benefits  average  four  dol- 
lars, and  death  benefits  fifty  dollars.  All 
men  taking  the  degree  of  Naomi  must  be 
members  of  a  Castle.  There  is  no  known 
connection  between  the  degree  of  Naomi, 
or  Daughters  of  Ruth,  attached  to  the  An- 
cient Order,  Knights  of  the  Mystic  Chain, 
and  any  of  several  other  similarly  named 
secret  societies  for  men  and  women. 

Ancient  Order  of  Foresters. — The 
Ancient  Order  of  Foresters  in  the  United 
States. is  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  Eng- 
lish Order.  The  first  Court  is  now  dead, 
having  been  established  in  Philadelphia  in 
1832.  When,  at  the  Minneapolis  Conven- 
tion, about  53,000  out  of  56,000  members 
seceded  from  English  authority  and  called 
themselves  the  Ancient  Order  of  Foresters  of 
America,  it  left  the  remaining  Courts  of  the 
Ancient  (English)  Order  in  this  country  to 
apply  for  a  form  of  local  government  to  the 
High  Court  of  England,  and  to  begin  again 


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CHART     SHOWING     RELATIONSHIP     OF     THE    AMERICAN     AND     CANADIAN 

ORDERS   OF   FORESTERS   TO   THE   PARENT   EN(}LISH   <)IU)ER   OF 

THAT    ANCIENT    AND    HONORABLE    FRATERNITY. 


128 


ANCIENT   ORDER   OF   GLEANERS 


the  work  of  recruiting  its  depleted  mem- 
bership. Two  Subsidiary  High  Courts 
were  granted  in  1891,  one  for  tlie  Atlantic, 
Central,  and  Southern  States,  and  the 
other  for  remaining  States  of  the  Union. 
Within  the  past  six  years  its  increase  in 
membership  has  been  noteworthy,  the  total 
including  about  36,000  men  and  3,300 
women.  Women  have  been  admitted  to 
full  membership  since  1892,  notwithstand- 
ing the  incorporation  in  this  Order  of 
Circles  of  Companions  of  the  Forest.  The 
ritual  of  the  Ancient  Order  in  America  has 
been  greatly  amplified,  by  permission  of 
the  High  Court  of  England.  Like  other 
branches  of  Foresters,  the  Ancient  Order  is 
primarily  a  sick  and  funeral  benefit  society. 
It  has  an  endowment  benefit,  but  it  is  op- 
tional. Sick  and  funeral  benefits  are  paid 
from  fixed  contributions  graded  according 
to  age  at  entry,  and  upon  Foresters'  ex- 
perience tables.  Endowments  are  paid 
from  assessments  graded  according  to  age 
at  entry,  based  on  Foresters'  mortality 
tables.  British  Forestry,  including  Courts 
in  the  United  States,  Canada,  Bermuda, 
British  Guiana,  British  Honduras,  Spain, 
Hawaiian  Islands,  Holland,  British  India, 
Malta,  New  Sonth  Wales,  New  Zealand, 
Peru,  Queensland,  St.  Helena,  Cajje  of  Good 
Hope,  Natal,  South  African  Republic,  South 
Australia,  Tasmania,  Victoria,  on  the  Gold 
Coast,  at  Lagos,  in  Central  America,  the 
United  States  of  Colombia,  British  and 
Danish  West  Indies,  Hayti,  and  West  Aus- 
tralia, has  paid  sick  and  death  benefits  since 
1854  in  excess  of  $85,000,000.  Prior  to  the 
date  named,  returns  were  incomplete  or 
unreliable.  This  is  the  great  fraternity 
which  ranks  almost  with  the  Manchester 
Unity  Odd  Fellows  in  total  membership,  in 
distribution  throughout  the  world,  and  in 
the  enormous  sums  paid  annually  to  sick 
and  distressed  members.  Its  present  grand 
total  membershipis  nearly  900,000.  The  pro- 
portion of  the  membership  of  the  Order  in 
the  United  States  is  about  4  per  cent.  Fully 
85  per  cent,  is  found  in  the  United  Kingdom. 


Aucieut  Order  of  Gleaners. — A  com- 
paratively recent  fraternal,  beneficiary  so- 
ciety, organized  at  Cairo,  Mich. 

Ancient  Order  of  Pyramids. — A  new 

fraternal,  beneficiary  society,   organized  at 
Topeka,  Kan. 

Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen 

(1868).— The  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  characterized  as  the  oldest  of  the 
great  fraternal,  beneficiary  Orders  in  the 
United  States,  was  founded  at  Meadville, 
Pa.,  October  27,  1868,  by  John  Jordon  Up- 
church,  a  Freemason,  Avho,  with  others,  had 
become  dissatisfied  with  and  had  retired 
from  "  The  League  of  Friendship,  Supreme 
Mechanical  Order  of  the  Sun."  *  The  first 
Lodge  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen  was  named  Jefferson,  No.  1,  and 
the  constitution  adopted  by  it  provided  that 
only  white  male  persons  should  be  eligible 
to  membership;  that  this  provision  should 
never  be  altered,  amended,  or  exjjunged; 
and  that  when  the  total  membership  should 
amount  to  one  thousand,  an  insurance  office 
should  be  established  and  policies  issued 
securing  at  the  death  of  a  member  not  less 
than  1500  to  be  paid  to  his  lawful  heirs. 
A  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  was  formed  in 
1869,  when  the  amount  of  insurance  was 
placed  at  not  less  than  12,000,  and  a  uni- 
form assessment  established  of  $1.  By  1870 
fi.ve  Lodges  were  represented  at  the  Provin- 
cial Grand  Lodge.  As  in  other  Orders,  dis- 
sensions arose,  and  for  two  years  there  were 
two  rival  Grand  Lodges.  But  by  1872 
union  and  harmony  i^revailed,  and  the  Or- 
der entered  on  a  career  of  growth  and  j^ros- 
perity.  Its  total  membership  in  about  6,000 
Lodges,  in  1895,  was  in  excess  of  318,000 
in  the  United  States,  and  nearly  32,000  in, 
Canada,  a  striking  record  for  practically 
tw-enty-four  5'ears  of  active  existence,  but 
which  is  less  remarkable  than  the  sum  total 
paid  to  widows  and  orphans  between  1869 
and  1895,  more  than  $70,000,000.  The 
government    of    the    Order    rests    in    the 

*  Not  known  to  exist  to-day. 


ANCIENT   ORDER  OF   UNITED   WORKMEN    (1868) 


129 


Supreme  Lodge, which  pays  benefits  to  mem- 
bers or  heirs  of  members  of  subordiuate 
Lodges  in  a  State,  Territory,  or  province 
not  having  a  Grand  Lodge  of  its  own,  and 
has  control  of  the  general  laws  of  the  Or- 
der. Grand  Lodges  under  the  Supreme 
Lodge  control  the  benefit  funds  of  their  own 
States  or  provincial  jurisdictions.  Li  rela- 
tion to  its  method  of  insurance,  surprise  has 
been  expressed  that  the  Order  has  so  long 
continued  its  siiccessful  career,  notwith- 
standing its  refusal  to  assess  members  accord- 
ing to  age  at  initiation,  as  is  done  by  nearly 
all  other  of  the  larger  and  similar  secret  so- 
cieties; and  by  its  insistance  that  its  Grand 
(and  Provincial)  Lodges  shall  receive  and 
disburse  all  death  benefits  which  are  based 
on  assessments,  made  at  the  uniform  rate  of 
$1  i>ev  capita,  irrespective  of  the  fact  that 
the  death  rate  varies  in  different  States. 
AVhen  the  death  rate  is  excessive  in  any  par- 
ticular jurisdiction,  and  assessments  there 
reach  a  certain  point,  determined  by  the 
Supreme  Lodge,  any  additional  assessment 
which  may  be  required  is  met  by  a  levy 
iipon  the  Order  as  a  whole.  Sick  and 
funeral  benefits  are  not  comprised  within 
the  objects  for  which  the  Order  was  estab- 
lished. It  is  optional  with  subordinate 
Lodges  to  provide  the  same,  or  either  of 
them,  but  comparatively  few  do  so.  The 
ritual  and  emblems  of  the  Order  betray  the 
]\Iasonic  influence  which  has  presided  at  the 
birth  of  so  many  modern  secret,  fraternal, 
beneficiary  fraternities.  Its  objects,  covered 
by  its  watchwords,  "  Charity,  Hope,  and 
Protection,"  are  illustrated  in  its  ceremo- 
nies of  initiation.  As  in  Masonic  and  other 
secret  societies,  it  has  three  degrees;  but  even 
more  significant  are  the  All-Seeing  Eye,  the 
Holy  Bible,  anchor,  and,  singularly  enough, 
the  square  and  compasses  among  its  more 
frequently  displayed  emblems.  There  is  an 
auxiliary  branch  for  women  (and  men  who 
are  members  of  the  Order)  called  the  De- 
gree of  Honor.  This  has  proved  quite  as 
popular  among  the  families  of  members  as 
has  the  Daughters  of  Kebekah  among  Odd 
9 


Fellows,  the  Companions  of  the  Forest 
allied  to  the  Foresters  of  America,  and  other 
like  societies  auxiliary  to  secret  organiza- 
tions for  men.  Its  membership  is  fully 
40,000,  mostly  women.  In  imitation  of  the 
so-called  Masonic  "side  degree,"  the  Work- 
men, who,  by  the  way,  are  not  necessarily 
artisans,  and  in  no  sense  constitute  a  trades 
union,  confer  what  is  officially  entitled  the 
Order  of  MoguUians.  This  is  said  to  fur- 
nish amusement  as  well  as  substantial  bene- 
fits. It  Avould  seem  to  the  student  of  the 
sociological  function  of  secret,  assessment, 
beneficiary  Orders  that  while  the  Ancient 
Order  of  L'nited  Workmen  is  perhaps  the 
oldest  and  among  the  more  successful  of  its 
class  in  the  L'nited  States,  while  its  affairs 
are  managed  capably,  and  its  membership 
ranks  second  only  to  that  of  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows, the  Freemasons,  and  Knights  of 
Pythias  among  non-political  secret  organi- 
zations, that  sooner  or  later  there  may  de- 
velop a  necessity  for  a  revision  of  its  assess- 
ment insurance  system  in  the  direction  at 
least  of  a  grading  of  payments  according  to 
age,  and  the  jdacing  of  death  benefit  funds 
in  the  hands  of  the  supreme  governing  body. 
All  great  and  good  movements  that  have 
filled  a  place  in  history  have  shed  lustre 
upon  the  place  of  their  birth.  Mt.  Vernon 
had  its  AVashington,  Springfield  its  Lincoln, 
and  Meadville  its  L^pchurch;  and  from  the 
seed  planted  b}'  the  latter  has  grown  the 
tree  of  mutual  protection,  under  whose  shel- 
ter to-day  millions  rest  in  security  from 
want  and  dependence.  The  Ancient  Order 
of  L'nited  Workmen  lays  no  claim  to  dis- 
tinction as  the  originator  of  the  idea  of  life 
insurance,  as  that  existed  many  years  prior 
to  its  birth;  but  its  recognized  claim  to 
originality  rests  on  the  fact  of  its  applying 
the  principles  of  life  insurance  in  a  novel 
and  cheap  way,  coupled  with  the  care  of  the 
sick,  the  relieving  of  the  distressed,  and  the 
moral,  social,  and  intellectual  betterment  of 
its  membership.  The  idea  of  forming  a  so- 
ciety that  should  ]iarallel  the  relief  of  the 
sick  and  burial  of  the  dead  of  the  secret. 


130 


ATLANTIC   SELF-ENDOWMENT   ASSOCIATION   OF  AMERICA 


fraternal,  beneficiary  organizations  of  thirty 
years  and  more  ago,  which,  in  addition, 
should  extend  its  beneficence  to  the  widows 
and  orphans  of  its  deceased  members  in  a 
stipulated  sum  of  money  sufficient  to  secure 
them  from  want,  was  an  untried  experi- 
ment until  the  organization  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen.  Following  in 
its  wake,  scores  of  other  assessment,  secret, 
insurance  societies  have  divided  the  field  of 
life  insurance  in  the  United  States  with  the 
old-line  companies.  From  its  ranks  have 
sj)rung  many  organizations  of  like  character. 
Prior  to  the  Civil  War  protection  for  widows 
and  orphans  through  the  medium  of  life 
insurance  was  within  the  means  of  the  well- 
to-do  only.  To-day  it  is  the  privilege  of 
the  humblest.  The  founder  of  the  Order, 
John  Jordon  Upchnrch,  Avas  a  mechanic^ 
and  in  18G8  was  in  the  employ  of  the  Atlan- 
tic and  Great  Western  Eailroad.  He  was 
possessed  of  no  marked  literary  attainments, 
but  was  a  keen  observer  of  men  and  events, 
was  possessed  of  good  reasoning  powers,  and, 
above  all,  a  philanthropic  nature.  His  orig- 
inal object  was  not  so  much  to  establish  a 
system  of  insurance  as  to  bring  together 
then  conflicting  social  interests,  capital  and 
labor,  to  provide  means  of  arbitration  with 
which  to  settle  difficulties  that  were  con- 
stantly arising.  This  feature  has  since  been 
eliminated  to  make  room  for  that  of  nintual 
protection.  Viewed  to-day,  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Order  at  the  beginning  was 
crude  and  unbusiness-like,  and  its  success  is 
undoubtedly  due  more  to  the  integrity  and 
sincerity  of  its  members  and  to  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  Society  than  to  the  early  em- 
ployment of  distinctly  business  j)rinciples. 
The  first  five  years  of  its  history  developed 
little  success  and  much  opposition.  It  was 
not  until  the  session  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Pennsylvania,  held  at  Meadville,  Pa.,  in 
January,  1873,  at  which  time  the  Order 
numbered  only  800  members,  that  it  gave 
promise  of  real  growth.  Since  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Supreme  Lodge  in  February, 
1873,  the  Order  has  prospered  almost  be- 


yond precedent  and  ranks  to-day  among  the 
first  of  its  class.  Senators  M.  S.  Quay,  J.  C. 
S.  Blackburn,  Congressman  J.  G.  Cannon, 
ex-Governor  James  E.  Campbell  of  Ohio, 
and  William  Jennings  Bryan  are  members 
of  this  Order. 

Atlantic  Self-EndoAVineiit  Associatiou 
of  America. — Formed  at  Greenville,  S.  C, 
in  1886,  to  insure  the  lives  of  its  members 
by  means  of  mutual  assessments.  Eeported 
dead. 

Big  Four  Fraternal  Liife  Association. 
— Organized  at  Denver,  Colo.,  to  pay  sick 
and  death  benefits  by  means  of  mutual  as- 
sessments. 

Canadian  Order  of  Chosen  Friends. 
— Formed  in  1801  and  1892  by  seceding 
members  of  the  Order  of  Chosen  Friends 
resident  in  the  Canadian  Dominion.  The 
parent  Order  was  arranging  to  give  its  Cana- 
dian membershij)  separate  jurisdiction  in 
order  not  to  antagonize  the  Dominion  in- 
surance laws  when  the  secession  took  place. 

Canadian  Order  of  Foresters. — Be- 
tween the  Canadian  branch  and  the.  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Foresters,  from  which  it 
sprung  in  1879,  there  developed  a  sharp 
rivalry  and  antagonism  which  lasted  four  or 
five  years — in  fact,  until  the  latter  so  far 
outran  the  Canadian  Society  in  membership 
as  to  render  rivalry  out  of  the  question. 
(See  Independent  Order  of  Foresters  of  Illi- 
nois and  the  Independent  Order  of  Fores- 
ters.) The  Canadian  Order,  of  course,  is 
only  one  of  four  Orders  of  Forestry  in  the 
Dominion,  the  largest  being  the  Inde2:)en- 
dent,  from  which  the  Canadian  Order  se- 
ceded, after  which  rank  the  Ancient  (Eng- 
lish) Order  and  (one  Court  of)  the  Foresters 
of  America.  The  Canadian  Order  has  pros- 
pered, having  increased  from  850  members 
in  1880,  to  nearly  23,000  within  seventeen 
years.  Like  other  branches  of  the  tree  of 
Forestry,  it  retains  the  characteristic  titles, 
ritual,  legend,  and  form  of  government  of 
the  parent  society.  It  does  not  seek  mem- 
bership out  of  the  Canadian  Dominion,  and, 
like  the  Independent  Order,  charges  a  fixed 


EMPIRE   KNIGHTS   OF   RELIEF 


131 


monthl}'  premium  with  which  to  pay  death 
benefits,  confining  sick  and  other  benefits  to 
assessments.  It  pays  -SoOO,  81,000,  -^1,500, 
or  82,000  benefits  at  death,  besides  sick  and 
funeral  benefits  (which  are  optional),  and 
furnishes  members  with  medical  attendance 
free.  Since  1879  the  Canadian  Order  has 
paid  over  81,297,356  to  members  and  their 
dependents  in  insurance  and  benefits.  Its 
funds  are  all  invested  in  Canada,  and  thus 
far  it  has  reported  an  exceedingly  low  death 
rate,  only  4.(J0  per  1,000  in  its  seventeenth 
year.  This,  like  the  Independent  Order, 
appears  to  make  a  feature  of  its  insurance 
and  other  beneficial  advantages,  rather 
more  than  some  other  secret,  beneficiary 
societies.  The  seat  of  government  of  the 
Society  is  at  Brantford,  Out. 

Circle  of  the  Golden  Baud. — Auxiliary 
to  the  Patriarchal  Circle  of  America.  (See 
the  latter.) 

Colored  Brotherhood  and  Sisterhood 
of  Honor. — Organized  at  Franklin,  Ky., 
in  188G,  as  a  social  and  beneficiary  society, 
in  which  classification  it  is  recorded  in  cen- 
sus reports  for  1890.  'No  further  informa- 
tion is  obtained  concerning  it. 

Colored  Consolidated  Brotherliood. 
— At  Atlanta,  Tex.,  the  home  office  of  this 
mutual  beneficiary  society  of  negroes  (as 
given  in  the  tenth  census),  nothing  is  known 
of  the  organization. 

Columbian  League. — An  outgrowth  of 
the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  the 
parent  of  modern  fraternal  beneficiary  fra- 
ternities in  the  United  States,  organized  at 
Detroit,  Mich.,  October  12,  1896,  "  the  an- 
niversary of  the  discovery  of  America  by 
Christopher  Columbus,"  by  Eev.  W.  Warne 
Wilson,  Past  Supreme  ^Master  Workman  and 
former  Crrand  Pecorder  of  the  Ancient  Or- 
der of  United  Workmen ;  William  A.  Pungs; 
Rev.  William  Prall,  D.D.;  Albert  P.  Jacobs, 
and  others.  No  further  action  was  taken 
until  January  1,  1897,  when  "the  prelim- 
inary matters  of  organization  "  were  contin- 
ued. The  necessary  two  hundred  members 
having  been  obtained,  the  society  was  incor- 


porated April  1,  1897,  after  which  the 
growth  of  the  organization  was  conspicu- 
ously rapid.  *rhe  withdrawal  of  Mr.  Warne 
and  others  from  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen  was  "  because  the  Grand 
Lodge  refused  to  adopt  certain  changes 
whicli  he  thought  vitally  necessary  to  the 
Order,"  provision  for  increasing  cost  of  in- 
surance as  the  society  grows  older.  Mem- 
bers of  the  Columbian  League  will  make  a 
feature  of  celebrating  October  12th  as  Co- 
lumbus Day.  Men  only  are  eligible  to  mem- 
bership, all  men  to  social  and  jiatriotic 
membership,  but  only  those  between  eigh- 
teen and  fifty  years  of  age  in  the  death  bene- 
fit department,  which  issues  certificates  of 
8500,  81,000,  81,500,  and  82,000  based  on 
twelve  annual,  step-rate  assessments,  accord- 
ing to  age.  The  founders  of  the  new  Order  are 
prominent  citizens  of  Michigan,  and  the  soci- 
ety starts  out  with  every  prospect  for  success. 

Danisli  Brotherhood  of  America. — 
Founded  at  Omaha,  Neb.,  in  1881,  a  fra- 
ternal, beneficiary  society  somewhat  similar 
to  the  Order  of  Modern  Woodmen.  It  pays 
sick  and  death  benefits,  and  numbers  about 
10,000  members  in  Massachusetts,  Connecti- 
cut, New  York,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wiscon- 
sin, Nebraska,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  South 
Dakota,  Kansas,  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Wash- 
ington, and  California.  It  has  paid  $500,000 
in  benefits. 

Daujfliters  of  Hope. — The  census  of 
1890  gives  the  address  of  this  mutual  assess- 
ment, beneficiary  society  at  Olneyville,  11. 1., 
where  it  is  not  known  to  the  postal  authori- 
ties. 

Daug^hters  of  the  Globe. — Branch  of 
or  auxiliary  to  the  Knights  of  the  Clobe,  an 
Illinois  social,  benevolent,  military  and 
patriotic  fraternal  society.  (See  Knights  of 
the  (ilobe.) 

Eastern  Star  Benevolent  Fund  of 
America. — See  Order  of  the  Star  of  Beth- 
lehom. 

Kmpire  linights  of  Relief. — Organ- 
ized in  1889  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  incor- 
porated under  the  laws  of  that  State  as  a 


132 


EQUITABLE   AID   UNION   OF   AMERICA 


fraternal,  beneficiary,  assessment  insurance 
society.  Its  published  announcements  de- 
clare that  it  has  ''no  secrets  or  iron-clad 
oaths,"  but  (elsewhere)  that  members  "  are 
bound  by  a  solemn  obligation  "  to  render 
assistance  to  any  sick  or  disabled  brother  in 
need  of  help.  The  Supreme  Secretary  is 
authority  for  the  statement  that  it  is  called 
a  secret  society,  ''and  properly,  too."  It 
insures  members  for  $1,000,  $2,000,  or 
$3,000,  and  makes  no  restriction  with  ref- 
erence to  extra-hazardous  occupations. 
Any  temperate,  industrious  man  between 
20  and  55  years  of  age  is  eligible  to  mem- 
bership, providing  he  can  pass  the  required 
physical  examination.  One  assessment  is 
levied  each  month,  whether  there  has  been 
a  death  or  not,  the  amount  collected  an- 
nually in  excess  of  the  sum  required  to  pay 
death  benefits  going  into  the  reserve  fund. 
A  funeral  benefit  of  $100,  $200,  or  $300  is 
paid  immediately  on  proof  of  death,  but  is 
deducted  from  the  death  benefit,  which  is 
payable  within  ninety  days.  The  Empire 
Knights  of  Relief  was  founded  by  promi- 
nent citizens  of  Buffalo  and  vicinity,  mem- 
bers of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men, the  Royal  Arcanum,  Freemasons,  and 
Odd  Fellows.  The  motto  of  the  Order  is 
"  Benevolence,  Philanthropy  and  Charity," 
and  its  ritual  is  based  on  the  G-olden  Rule  and 
inculcates  obedience  to  the  moral  and  civil 
law.  The  total  membership  is  about  4,000, 
distributed  throughout  half  a  dozen  States. 
The  society  has  been  successful  from  the 
start  and  gives  promise  of  continued 
growth  and  prosperity. 

Equitable  Aid  Union  of  America. — 
Organized  at  Columbus,  Warren  County, 
Pa.,  March  22,  1879,  and  incorporated 
under  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania.  Four  of 
the  founders  were  Freemasons.  This  secret, 
beneficiary  fraternity  permitted  the  forma- 
tion of  subordinate  Unions,  as  its  Lodges 
are  termed,  north  of  36°  30'  north  latitude 
in  the  United  States  and  in  the  Dominion 
of  Canada.  It  sought  to  bring  men  and 
women  into  its  Unions  to  promote  benevo- 


lence, charity,  social  and  mental  culture, 
to  care  for  the  sick  and  needy,  to  aid  one 
another  in  obtaining  employment,  and  to 
assist  each  other  in  business.  It  also  in- 
sured members  in  sums  ranging  from  $325 
to  $3,000  by  means  of  assessments  of  from 
twenty-five  cents  to  $1,  according  to  age  and 
amount.  The  benefit  certificates  also  pro- 
vided for  the  payment  of  specified  sums  in 
case  of  accident  resulting  in  physical  dis- 
ability. Eligibility  to  membership  ex- 
tended to  candidates  from  15  to  55  years  of 
age.  The  total  membership  in  twenty-four 
States  and  in  Canada  in  1896  was  about 
30,000,  of  which  25,000  were  beneficiary 
and  5,000  social  members.  The  official  em- 
blem consisted  of  the  initials  of  the  title  of 
the  Order  in  a  triangle,  surrounded  by  a 
conventionalized  sun-burst.  The  system 
of  assessments  in  the  Equitable  Aid  Union 
suggests  the  influence  of  the  Ancient  Order 
of  United  Workmen.  The  government  of 
the  society  is  similar  to  that  of  other  simi- 
lar societies,  subordinate  Unions  being 
under  the  immediate  jurisdiction  of  Grand 
or  State  (or  provincial)  Unions,  the  offi- 
cers and  representatives  of  the  latter  mak- 
ing up  the  Supreme  Union,  or  highest 
legislative  authority.  In  April,  1897,  the 
Union  susjDended  payments  and  went  into 
the  hands  of  a  receiver.  It  had  fought 
hard  to  continue  its  existence,  and  num- 
bered about  30,000  members,  principally  in 
the  country  districts  of  Ohio,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  New  York.  Less  than  five 
years  before  it  had  $43,000,000  worth  of 
policies  in  force,  and  not  many  years  pre- 
viously the  amount  was  almost  $75,000,000. 
Its  decline  began  in  1891.  In  1895  its  income 
was $792,895 and  its  disbursements$801, 435, 
and  its  death  rate  had  increased  within  four 
years  from  12.2  to  17.4  per  1,000  annually. 

Equitable  League  of  America. — A 
Baltimore  mutual  assessment  insurance 
Order,  organized  about  ten  years  ago. 
Died  in  1894. 

Fraternal  Aid  Association. — Organ- 
ized October  14,  1890,  at  Lawrence,  Kan., 


FRATERNAL   MYSTIC   CIRCLE 


133 


by  members  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America, 
Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  and  otlier  fra- 
ternal, beneficiary  Orders,  to  insure  tlie  lives 
of  acceptable  white  men  and  women,  be- 
tween 18  and  55  years  of  age,  who  are  not 
engaged  in  prohibited  (iiazardous)  occupa- 
tions. Honorary  membership  may  be  ob- 
tained by  specified  relatives  of  beneficiary 
members.  The  Association  also  seeks  to 
promote  fraternity  among  its  members,  to 
comfort  the  sick  and  distressed,  and  care 
for  surviving  relatives  of  deceased  members. 
Sick,  total  disability,  and  death  benefits  are 
provided,  the  latter  in  three  classes,  ranging 
from  $1,000  to  $3,000.  No  assessments  are 
called  nutil  money  is  needed  to  meet  a  claim, 
of  which  thirty  days'  notice  is  given.  Its 
government  is  vested  in  a  General  Council, 
composed  of  its  officers  and  representatives, 
chosen  from  local  or  State  Councils.  The 
Association  declines  to  recruit  members  in 
the  Atlantic  Coast  and  Gulf  States  from 
Virginia  to  Texas,  inclusive;  in  CookCounty, 
111.,  and  all  of  Illinois  south  of  Centralia; 
in  Milwaukee,  Cincinnati,  New  York  city, 
Detroit,  St.  Louis,  San  Francisco,  Sacra- 
mento, and  all  other  cities  having  a  popula- 
tion of  more  than  200,000,  in  which  peculi- 
arity it  imitates  a  number  of  strong  and 
prosperous  fraternal  Orders  of  the  West. 
It  has  about  3,000  members,  a  "modern'' 
ritual,  and  has  paid  about  $100,000  in  sick 
and  death  benefits  since  it  was  organized. 
Its  emblem  is  composed  of  tiie  initials  of  its 
title  about  a  pair  of  clasped  hands  across  a 
shield  bearing  the  stars  and  stripes. 

Fraternal  Legion. — A  Baltimore  bene- 
ficiary society,  organized  in  1881,  to  pay 
81,000  death  benefits.  Is  not  known  to  have 
survived  the  recent  period  of  trade  depres- 
sion. 

Fraternal  3Iystic  Circle. — This  organi- 
zation is  among  the  smaller  assessment 
beneficiary  secret  societies.  It  was  formed 
December  9, 1884,  to  provide  safe  indemnity 
for  young  business  and  professional  men 
under  the  lodge  system.     Of  the  five  found- 


ers, Milton  Barnes,  formerly  Secretary  of 
State  for  Ohio,  died  in  1895,  but  three  others 
are  still  "  members  of  the  Order  and  officers 
of  the  Supremo  Ruling'':  D.  E.  Stevens, 
Supreme  Mystic  Ruler  ;  John  G.  Reinhard, 
Supreme  Treasurer  ;  and  F.  8.  Wagenhals, 
Supreme  Medical  Director.  Of  those  that 
made  up  the  membership  at  the  first  meet- 
ing, in  December,  1884,  the  following,  in 
addition  to  those  above  named,  are  still 
members  of  the  Supreme  Ruling  :  John  F. 
Follett,  Cincinnati,  0.  ;  A.  N.  Hill,  Colum- 
bus, 0.  ;  J.  D.  Grimes,  Dayton,  0.  ;  H.  C. 
Drinkle,  Lancaster,  0. ;  and  A.  X.  Ozias,  Ra- 
cine,Wis.  Messrs,  Stevens, Wagenhals,  Hill, 
and  Follett  are  Freemasons,  some  of  them 
having  taken  the  Scottish  Rite  degrees  to  and 
including  the  thirty-second.  Others  named 
are  members  of  Knights  of  Pythias  and 
other  well-known  secret  societies.  This 
Order  has  the  usual  form  of  government  of 
like  fraternities,  a  Supreme  and  Grand  and 
Subordinate  Rulings.  The  first  named  is 
the  supreme  governing  body  and  the  final 
court  of  appeals.  A  Supreme  Executive 
Committee  of  five  manage  in  the  interim, 
between  sessions  of  the  Supreme  Ruling. 
Grand  Rulings  (Grand  lodges)  are  insti- 
tuted in  a  State  when  the  membership 
reaches  500,  or  the  number  of  Rulings  is  15. 
Subordinate  Rulings  are  instituted  in  health- 
ful localities,  where  a  sufficient  number  of 
good,  eligible,  and  desirable  candidates  are 
found,  willing  to  join  hands  for  the  mutual 
protection  of  themselves  and  families.  Sub- 
ordinate Rulings  are  managed  by  their  mem- 
bers, and  naturally  become  educational  cen- 
tres as  to  the  plans  and  benefits  of  the  Order 
and  methods  of  conducting  business.  Each 
Subordinate  Ruling  entitled  to  one  elects  a 
Representative  to  the  Grand  Ruling  an- 
nually, and  these  Representatives  (who 
make  up  the  Grand  Ruling)  elect  one  or 
more  delegates  (as  the  State  may  be  en- 
titled) to  the  Supreme  Ruling.  The  special 
purposes  of  the  Order  are  :  1st,  To  unite 
acceptable  men,  between  the  ages  of  18  and 
49   years,   to  carry   out    all    that  which    is 


134 


FRATERNAL   TRIBUNES 


included  within  the  meaning  of  the  word 
"  fraternity  ; "  2d,  To  make  provision  that 
each  Subordinate  Lodge  shall,  from  its 
general  fund,  pay  dues  and  assessments  of 
sick  or  disabled  members,  maturing  during 
such  sickness  or  disability  ;  3d,  The  pay- 
ment of  the  amount  specified  in  the  certi- 
ficate of  membership  ($500  to  $3,000)  to  the 
beneficiaries  at  the  death  of  a  member  ; 
4th,  Payment  to  a  member  of  one-half  of 
the  sum  named  in  his  certificate  of  mem- 
bership in  case  permanent  total  disability 
overtakes  him  ;  oth.  The  creation  of  an 
Emergency  or  Equalization  Fund,  to  pre- 
vent the  number  of  assessments  exceeding 
twelve  in  any  year  ;  Gth,  The  collection  of  a 
General  Fund  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the 
Supreme  Kuling.  During  twelve  years  the 
Order  has  paid  to  members  and  beneficiaries 
in  death  and  permanent  total  disability 
benefits  almost  $1,000,000,  and  the  emer- 
gency fund  has  to  its  credit  over  $125,000, 
while  the  annual  cost  to  members  has  been 
small.  In  1895  it  was  as  follows,  for  the  ages 
named  : 

Age  25,  on  $3,000,  $19.20;  on  $1,000,  $6.40  per  an. 

"    30,   "  p, 000,  $22.80;  "$1,000,    7.60    "     " 

"    35,  "  $3,000,  $28.20;  "  $1,000,    9.40    "     " 

"   40,   "  $3,000,  $34.20;  "  $1,000,  11.40    "     " 

"    45,   "  $3,000,  $42.60;  "$1,000,14.20    "     " 

These  annual  payments  include  the  three 
elements  required  to  meet  the  death  claims 
fund,  emergency  fund,  and  expense  fund. 
At  the  age  of  35,  a  $3,000  certificate  for 
1896  would  cost  128.20,  distributed  as  fol- 
lows :  Death  claims  fund,  $22.21  ;  Emer- 
gency fund,  $2.47;  and'  Expense  fund, 
$3.52.  From  the  date  of  organization  until 
June,  1894,  all  the  executive  officers  of  the 
Supreme  Euling  resided  at  Columbus,  0., 
when  the  offices  of  the  Supreme  Mystic 
Euler  and  Supreme  Eecorder  w^ere  moved 
to  Philadelphia.  In  April,  1895,  the  Su- 
preme Euling  was  incorporated.  The  policy 
of  the  Executive  Ofiicers  of  this  Order  has 
favored  the  filing  of  annual  reports  with 
the  Insurance  departments  of  States,  where 
the  laws  provide  for  it,  and  annual  reports 


are  filed  annually  with  the  insurance  depart- 
ments of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Illinois, 
Iowa,  and  Nebraska.  At  no  period  in  its 
history  has  the  Order  been  more  prosperous 
than  at  present,  the  year  1896  having 
brought  a  larger  volume  of  new  business 
than  any  preceding  year.  The  present  mem- 
bership is  more  than  12,000. 

Fraternal  Tribunes.  —  Organized  in 
June,  1897,  by  A.  L.  Craig  and  others,  at 
Eock  Island,  111.,  to  pay  death,  sick,  dis- 
ability, old  age,  and  annuity  benefits.  Both 
men  and  women  may  become  members. 
The  Society  started  with  750  members,  em- 
ploys the  graded  plan  of  assessments,  and 
claims  the  "  unique  feature  "of  "  guarantee 
by  a  Loan  and  Indemnity  Company  "  that  its 
contracts  with  its  members  will  be  fulfilled. 

Fraternal  Order  of  Protectors. — A 
mutual  assessment  beneficiary  society  which 
had  its  headquarters  at  Lincoln,  Neb.,  a  few 
years  ago. 

Fraternal  Union  of  America. — A  mu- 
tual assessment,  beneficiary  society  founded 
by  F.  F.  Eoose,  F.  A.  Falkenburg,  and 
others  at  Denver,  Colo. ,  September  1,  1896, 
to  pay  death,  sick,  disability,  and  old  age 
benefits.  Men  and  women  are  eligible  to 
membership,  and  the  total  number  of  mem- 
bers is  in  excess  of  5,000.  Mr.  Eoose,  the  Su- 
preme President,  has  had  much  experience 
among  fraternal  orders,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Ancient  Order  L^nited  Workmen,  Mod- 
ern Woodmen  of  America,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  Woodmen  of  the  World,  Phi  Delta 
Theta,  Heptasophs,  Junior  Order  United 
American  Mechanics,  Eed  Men,  and  of  the 
Masonic  Fraternity. 

Fraternity  of  Friendly  Fellows. — Or- 
ganized at  New  York,  in  1885,  to  pay  $1,000 
insurance  to  members  by  mutual  assessments. 
It  was  still  alive  in  1890,  but  no  trace  of  it 
is  found  in  1897. 

Glenwood  Degree. — Uniform  rank  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Foresters,  formed 
in  1875.  (See  Independent  Order  Foresters 
and  ditto  of  Illinois.) 


HOME   CIRCLE 


135 


Golden  Rule  Alliance. — Organized  at 
Boston  prior  to  1889,  and  recorded  in  the 
census  of  1890  as  a  mutual  assessment,  bene- 
ficiary fraternity.  Its  membersliip  was  not 
large,  nor  did  it  secure  a  national  reiwta- 
tion.  No  trace  has  been  secured  of  surviv- 
ing bodies  of  tliis  Order. 

Golden  Star  Fraternity. — Organized  in 
1881  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  as  a  fraternal,  bene- 
ficiary society  for  men  and  women.  Its 
total  membership  is  about  2,200,  distributed 
through  New  Jersey,  New  York,  and  Con- 
necticut, but  very  few  of  its  Lodges  are 
found  outside  of  the  State  where  it  was 
founded.  It  has  neither  a  prohibition,  re- 
ligious, or  political  bias,  and  states  that  it  is 
in  a  sound  financial  condition  with  no  out- 
standing liabilities.  Its  ritual  seeks  to  im- 
press the  teachings  of  benevolence  and 
charity. 

Grand  United  Order,  Independent 
Sons  and  Daughters  of  Purity. — This 
l)eneficiary  and  social  society  was  organized 
at  Harrisonburg,  Va.,  prior  to  the  jiresent 
decade.  None  of  its  Lodges  are  known  to 
be  in  existence  now. 

Granite  League. — Formed  at  Philadel- 
phia nearly  ten  years  ago  to  insure  the  lives 
of  members  by  means  of  assessments.  Re^ 
ported  dead. 

Home  Circle,  The. — When  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  which  is  composed  exclusively  of 
men,  had  been  organized  nearly  two  years 
and  a  half,  and  had  been  introduced  into 
twenty-three  States  of  the  Union,  some  of 
its  active  members,  residents  of  Massachu- 
setts, conceived  the  idea  of  organizing  a 
similar  society  into  which  the  members  of 
the  Royal  Arcanum  could  take  tlieir  wives, 
daughters,  sisters,  and  women  friends,  and 
give  them  the  full  beneficial  and  social  priv- 
ileges which  membership  in  such  a  societv 
confers.  The  plan  was  to  welcome  woman 
to  a  full  share  of  the  work,  honors,  and 
responsibilities  which,  with  few  excei)tions, 
had  been  refused  her  by  secret  beneficiary 
organizations.  With  this  object  in  view 
the  Supreme  Council  of  the  Home  Circle 


was  organized  in  Boston,  October  2,  1879, 
and  began  business  November  5,  1879,  being 
chartered  under  the  laws  of  ^lassachu setts 
January  13,  1 880.  Its  founders  were  Henry 
Damon,  Dr.  John  T.  Codman,  Dr.  Thomas 
Waterman,  Dr.  Edward  Page,  N.  II.  Ful- 
ler, John  A.  Cummings,  and  Julius  M. 
Swain,  all  residents  of  Boston  or  vicinity. 
They  Avere  all  members  of  the  Masonic  Fra- 
ternity, Knights  of  Honor,  and  Royal  Arca- 
num, three  were  Odd  Fellows,  and  two  were 
members  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Ignited 
Workmen. 

The  charter  permitted  the  society,  first, 
to  unite  in  social  union  all  acceptable  mem- 
bers of  the  Royal  Arcanum,  their  wives, 
mothers,  sisters,  daughters,  and  women 
friends,  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  aid, 
assistance,  moral  and  intellectual  improve- 
ment; and,  second,  to  establish  a  benefit 
fund  from  which  a  sum  not  exceeding 
$3,500  should  be  jiaid  to  the  deceased  mem- 
ber's famil}^,  relatives,  or  dependents  as 
directed. 

Four  benefit  degrees  were  adopted,  and  a 
candidate  having  passed  a  satisfactory  in- 
vestigation, a  medical  examination,  and  the 
ballot,  was  admitted  to  one  of  the  four  de- 
grees as  he  might  elect,  carrying  >!500, 
$1,000,  $2,000,  or  $3,500  protection,  and 
there  was  then  issued  a  benefit  certificate 
for  the  amount  selected,  ^^Jiyj^ble  to  some 
legal  beneficiary  named  in  the  application. 

In  1881  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts 
by  special  act  granted  the  Sujireme  Council 
of  the  Home  Circle  authority  to  increase  its 
benefit  to  $5,000,  and  to  receive  as  members 
all  acceptable  applicants  without  reference 
to  their  altiliation  with  the  Royal  Arcanum. 
Under  the  laws  of  ^lassachusetts  the  society 
cannot  transact  a  commercial  insurance  busi- 
ness, and  while  its  policies  or  benefit  certifi- 
cates are  good  for  their  face  value  to  the 
family,  relative,  or  actual  dependent  named, 
no  certificate  is  issued  payable  to  any  other 
person,  and  the  benefits  cannot  be  disposed 
of  by  will,  assigned  for  any  purpose,  or  at- 
tached for  debt  of  the  member  or  beneficiary 


136 


HOME  FORUM  BENEFIT  ORDER 


either  during  the  lifetime  of  the  member  or 
at  his  decease.  Membership  in  the  Home 
Circle,  tlien,  is  an  assurance  to  the  member 
that  the  amount  of  benefit  named  will,  in 
the  event  of  his  or  her  decease  iu  good 
standing,  be  paid  the  beneficiary  selected. 
The  exi)erience  of  the  Order  in  receiving 
women  and  according  to  them  office,  honors, 
and  permission  to  carr}^  a  protection  or  in- 
surance for  dependent  parents  or  children 
upon  the  same  conditions  of  entrance,  medi- 
cal examination,  and  cash  payments  as  men, 
has  been  favorable.  Women  compose  thirty 
per  cent,  of  the  membership,  and  the  Home 
Circle  furnishes  the  first  and  "  perhaps  only 
example,"  where  a  beneficial  society  consti- 
tuted of  men  and  women  has  elected  a  lady 
as  its  chief  executive  officer. 

Two  million  dollars  have  been  paid  in 
death  benefits  besides  the  special  relief  to 
members  when  ill  or  in  need,  amounting  to 
about  1100,000  in  seventeen  years.  Death 
benefits  paid  have  directly  aided  over  3,000 
persons,  and  in  a  large  majority  of  cases  the 
deceased  member  has  left  to  dependents  no 
other  protection  or  life  insurance. 

The  experience  of  the  Home  Circle  has 
been  conspicuous  among  the  beneficiary  se- 
cret societies  of  the  country,  in  that  it  has 
never  had  occasion  to  contest  the  payment 
of  a  benefit  in  the  courts,  and  that  its  legal 
expenses  for  a  period  of  seventeen  years  are 
trifling.  Subordinate  Councils  are  com- 
posed of  beneficiary  members  of  either  sex 
between  eighteen  and  fifty  years  of  age,  who 
must  pass  a  favorable  examination  and  bal- 
lot. Applicants  over  fifty  years  of  age  may 
be  admitted  as  social  members  without  a 
medical  examination.  Grand  Councils  are 
organized  in  States  and  provinces  having  at 
least  1,000  members,  and  are  composed  of 
their  officers,  standing  committees,  and 
representatives  from  subordinate  Councils. 
They  have  the  general  supervision  of  the 
Order  in  their  respective  jurisdictions.  The 
Supreme  Council,  the  head  of  the  Order, 
makes  laws  and  disburses  the  Benefit  Fund. 
It  is  composed  of  its  officers,  standing  com- 


mittees, and  representatives  from  Grand 
Councils.  Assessments  paid  by  members  in 
subordinate  Councils  are  called  to  the  Su- 
preme Treasury  on  the  first  of  each  month. 
The  jurisdiction  of  the  Order  is  limited  to 
the  United  States  and  the  Dominion  of 
Canada,  and  its  business  is  conducted  in  the 
English  language  only.  It  has  a  member- 
ship of  about  8,000,  located  in  the  States 
of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts, 
Ehode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  A'irginia, 
North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Ohio,  Illinois, 
Michigan,  Missouri,  and  Nebraska,  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  and  the  Provinces  of  On- 
tario, Quebec,  and  New  Brunswick.  Its 
ritual  is  based  on  the  Golden  Kule,  and 
teaches  morality  and  upright  living.  The 
emblem  of  the  Society  consists  of  a  design 
formed  of  the  letter  H  and  a  circle,  Avhile 
that  of  the  Supreme  Council,  its  governing 
body,  suggests  the  domestic  results  of  a 
well-spent  and  industrious  life. 

Home  Forum  Benefit  Order. — Char- 
tered under  the  laws  of  the  Sta£e  of  Illinois, 
in  1892,  as  a  mutual  assessment,  beneficiary 
society,  by  prominent  members  of  the  Mod- 
ern Woodmen  of  America  and  of  tlie  Masonic 
Fraternity.  It  is  controlled  by  its  members, 
the  business  of  the  association  being  man- 
aged by  a  board  of  directors.  Women  are 
admitted  to  full  membershii)  with  men,  the 
age  limits  for  beneficiary  membership  being 
between  sixteen  and  fifty-five  years.  Hon- 
orary or  social  membership  is  granted  those 
over  the  age  limit  for  insurance.  The  order 
issues  death  benefit  certificates  for  $500, 
$1,000,  and  $2,000,  and  any  member  losing 
a  foot,  hand,  or  an  eye  by  an  accident  is  en- 
titled to  receive  one-fourth  of  the  amount 
named  in  the  certificate,  the  balance  being 
payable  at  death.  ^Membership  is  restricted 
to  healthful  districts,  and  denied  to  those 
following  hazardous  occupations.  An  un- 
usual regulation  in  like  fraternities  is  that 
which  suspends  for  three  months  any  mem- 
ber who  becomes  intoxicated  and  expels  for 
the  second  ofEence,  although,  as  explained. 


IMPROVED  ORDER  OF  HEPTASOPHS 


137 


such  action  is  "without  publicity."  The 
plan  of  assessment  is  amon<]f  the  approved 
or  graded  systems  in  use  by  nearly  all  of  the 
best  numaged  fraternal  orders.  The  ritual, 
like  that  of  some  other  similar  organizations, 
finds  its  inspiration  in  lioman  history.  It 
was  about  the  Ronum  Forum  that  Cicero, 
Ca?sar,  Brutus,  Anthony,  and  other  dis- 
tinguished Romans  met  to  discuss  the  ques- 
tions of  their  time  and  form  laws,  and  the 
Home  Forum  of  to-day,  adopting  the  old 
Roman  name,  meets  to  decide  questions  of 
interest  to  its  members  and  impart  the  les- 
sons of  honesty,  fraternity,  benevolence, 
temperance,  and  patriotism,  the  initials  of 
which  are  found  in  the  angles  of  the  golden 
star  of  the  Order.  The  total  membership, 
principally  in  Illinois,  Missouri,  Iowa,  and 
Michigan,  is  about  12,000. 

Home  Palladiniu. — A  secret  beneficiary 
fraternity,  to  which  acceptable  white  men 
and  women  are  eligible,  organized  at  Kansas 
City,  Mo.,  in  August,  1891,  by  E.  F.  Edge- 
comb,  Dr.  L.  G.  Taylor,  and  Dr.  T.  J. 
Eggers,  to  give  financial  aid  to  its  members 
in  permanent,  partial,  or  total  disability 
and  death,  by  means  of  twelve  graded  assess- 
ments annually.  It  claims  to  combine  the 
best  features  of  older  similar  societies,  to 
have  new  and  desirable  ones  of  its  own,  and 
to  avoid  that  Avhich  is  objectionable  in  some 
like  fraternities.  Benefit  certificates  are 
issued  in  sums  of  $500,  $1,000,  $1,500,  and 
12,000  in  three  classes,  extra  rates  being 
charged  members  engaged  in  hazardous  and 
extra-hazardous  occupations.  Emphasis  is 
placed  on  its  method  of  creating  and  main- 
taining a  reserve  fund,  which  is  copyrighted. 
One-tenth  of  the  amount  of  the  face  of  a 
member's  benefit  certificate  is  set  apart  for 
the  reserve  fund  on  which  he  or  she  pays  in- 
terest at  the  rate  of  2  per  cent,  per  annum 
so  long  as  the  certificate  renuiins  in  force. 
The  Order  is  governed  directly  by  the  Su- 
jireme  Lodge,  to  which  State  Representatives 
are  elected  by  Grand  Lodges  existing  for 
that  purpose  alone.  It  avoids  the  yellow 
fever  and  malarial  districts  of  the  South, 


and  has  thus  far  enjoyed  an  exceptionally 
low  death  rate.  It  numbers  over  2,000 
members,  and  is  growing  rapidly. 

The  Imperial  Lt'f-iou. — A  Denver,  Colo., 
beneficial  fraternal  association.  Lodges  of 
which  have  been  established  as  far  east  as 
Missouri.  Many  prominent  Colorado  busi- 
ness and  professional  men  are  members  of  it. 

Improved  Order  ofHeptasoph.s. — The 
growth  of  beneficiary  secret  societies,  those 
paying  sick,  funeral,  and  death  benefits, 
within  ten  or  fifteen  years  after  the  close  of 
the  Civil  "War,  was,  no  doubt,  responsible 
for  the  desire  by  members  of  the  Order  of 
Heiita8ophs,or  Seven  Wise  Men,  that  that  So- 
ciety be  placed  on  a  purely  beneficiary  basis. 
The  movement  centred  in  Zeta  Conclave, 
No.  6,  of  the  Ileptasophs,  or  Seven  Wise 
Men,  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  as  the  advo- 
cates of  the  change  from  a  purely  beneficiary 
secret  organization  on  modern  lines  were 
not  able  to  carry  out  their  plan  within  the 
Society,  they  ajiparently  determined  to  do 
so  by  means  of  an  independent  organization. 
A  call  was  accordingly  issued  August  10, 
1878,  signed  by  Judge  George  Y.  Metzel, 
John  W.  Cruett,  James  S.  Watkins,  Hon. 
John  G.  :Mitchel,  W.  F.  C.  Gerhardt,  and 
Herbert  J.  Thurn,  all  of  ^laryland,  asking 
the  cooperation  of  fourteen  other  members, 
six  from  ^laryland,  six  from  Pennsylvania, 
and  one  from  \'irginia,  and  one  from  Ken- 
tucky, at  a  meeting  in  convention  to  organ- 
ize a  secret,  beneficiary  organization.  The 
convention  was  held  at  Odd  Fellows'  Hall  on 
Broad  Street,  Philadelphia,  August  27th, 
all  of  the  signers  of  the  call  and  those  asked 
to  join  with  them,  twenty  in  number,  being 
present.  A  permanent  organization  of  a 
Supreme  Conclave  was  effected  ujuler  the 
title,  The  Improved  Order  of  Heptasophs, 
with  S3  members  of  Zeta  Conclave,  Order  of 
the  Heptasophs,  or  Seven  Wise  Men,  as  the 
nucleus  of  the  new  society.  Judge  George 
V.  ^letzel  is  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the 
Improved  Order,  aiul  he  was  elected  the 
first  Archon,  or  chief  executive.  At  the  first 
annual  session,  in  1879,  only  nine  Conclaves 


138 


INDEPENDENT   CHEVALIERS   AND   LADIES   OF   INDUSTRY 


"were  reported,  with  a  total  membership  of 
149.  For  the  first  six  years  of  its  existence, 
the  Improved  Order  of  Heptasophs  was  an- 
tagonized by  the  parent  society,  so  that  dur- 
ing the  first  two  years  its  membership  in- 
creased to  only  516  in  twelve  Conclaves. 
But  the  Society  (see  Order  of  the  Heptasophs, 
or  Seven  Wise  Men)  was  in  the  hands  of 
strong,  conservative  men  who  are  said  to 
have  given  freely  of  their  time  and  means 
to  build  it  up.  It  now  numbers  more  than 
35,000  members  in  twenty  States,  and  in 
the  year  1895  enjoyed  a  phenomenal  growth. 
The  Order  embraces  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  leading  kindred  societies,  except 
that  it  has  abolished  Grand  (State)  Con- 
claves, and  leaves  its  business  affairs,  includ- 
ing the  management  of  its  death  benefit 
fund,  in  the  hands  of  its  permanent  and 
other  Supreme  officials.  In  Maryland,  the 
cradle  of  the  Order,  there  are  nearly  12,000 
members,  with  an  average  mortality  rate  of 
only  7  in  1,000  per  annum.  The  following 
is  extracted  from  the  Maryland  Insurance 
Committee's  report  for  1895: 

In  closing  my  examination  of  the  conditions  of 
Fraternal  Benefit  Orders,  it  is  proper  for  one  to 
refer  specially  to  the  Improved  Order  of  Heptasophs 
as  to  the  promptness  with  which  all  claims  have 
been  met  and  paid,  and  in  all  eases  it  was  found  the 
organization  had  made  reasonable  effort  to  complete 
the  necessary  formalities  and  inquiries,  in  order  to 
increase  the  efficiency  for  the  settlement  of  all 
claims. 

The  Order  has  issued  certificates  repre- 
senting $48,000,000,  more  than  $12,000,000 
in  1895,  a  creditable  exhibit.  In  eighteen 
years  over  $2,000,000  have  been  paid  to 
beneficiaries.  The  beneficiary  fund  is  pro- 
tected by  the  Maryland  Code  of  Laws,  sec- 
tion 143,  L,  of  chapter  295,  of  the  Legisla- 
tive Acts  of  1894,  whicli  clears  from  any  at- 
tachment i3roceedings  all  moneys  to  be  paid 
from  such  funds  held  by  any  similar  organi- 
zation. The  Supreme  body  consists  of 
its  oflBcers,  deputies,  and  representatives 
elected  by  the  membershi]!  of  Subordinate 
Conclaves.     The  original,  or  charter,  mem- 


bers were  made  permanent  members  of  the 
Supreme  Conclave  as  Past  Supreme  Arch- 
ons,  having  equal  privileges  with  the  Rej)- 
resentatives  on  the  floor  of  each  Supreme 
Sitting.  The  membership  of  the  Order  is 
exclusively  in  the  United  States  and  is  dis- 
tributed north  of  South  Carolina,  Kentucky, 
Arkansas,  and  Texas,  extending  west  to  and 
including  Colorado.  Death  benefits  range 
from  $1,000  to  $5,000,  and  are  met  by  assess- 
ments. Subordinate  Conclaves  under  the 
Supreme  general  laws  are  permitted  to  shape 
their  own  by-laws,  so  far  as  they  refer  to  sick 
benefits  ;  but  many  Conclaves  have  decided 
not  to  pay  sick  benefits.  Two  Conclaves 
have  been  so  prosperous  as  to  be  able  to 
build  temples  of  their  own.  Zeta  Conclave 
of  Baltimore  has  an  edifice  whicli  cost 
$40,000,  and  Grant  Conclave  atEaston,  Pa., 
has  also  dedicated  a  handsome  temple  to  the 
principles  of  the  Fraternity.  This  Order 
was  among  the  first  to  place  its  insurance 
feature  under  the  supervision  of  insurance 
departments  in  States  where  its  meetings  are 
held,  in  order  that  its  efforts  and  the  results 
of  its  work  may  remain  "  an  open  book,"  in 
which  the  record  of  tlie  material  good  it  ac- 
comjDlishes  may  be  seen  by  all  men. 

Iiidepeiideiit  Chevaliers  and  liadies 
of  Industry. — Organized  at  Fail  Eiver, 
Mass.,  1889,  as  a  fraternal  mutual  assessment 
association.     Lived  only  about  six  years. 

Independent  Order  of  Chosen 
Friends. — Early  in  1887,  when  the  Order 
of  Chosen  Friends  was  only  three  years  old, 
leaders  of  the  latter  in  California  applied  to 
the  Supreme  Council  for  a  separate  juris- 
diction on  the  Pacific  Coast.  This  was  re- 
fused, notwithstanding  the  strength  of  the 
Order  there,  and  the  result  was  a  secession 
and  the  formation  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Chosen  Friends.  Within  a  few  years  the 
Independent  California  Friends  numbered 
7,000  or  8,000  members,  but  the  Society 
ultimately  dropped  out  of  sight.  (See  Order 
of  Chosen  Friends.) 

Independent  Order  of  Foresters. — 
This  branch  of  Forestrv,  like  the  Foresters 


INDEPENDENT   ORDER   OF   FORESTERS 


139 


of  America  (which  see),  was  the  outgrowth 
of  a  movemeut  to  secure  local  self-govern- 
ment among  New  York  and  New  Jersey 
Foresters,  which  began  in  1871,  and  cul- 
minated, after  several  refusals  of  the  Eng- 
lish High  Court  to  establish  a  Sul)sidiary 
High  Court  for  the  United  States,  in  June, 
1874,  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  when  Court  Inde- 
pendence seceded  from  the  Ancient  Order, 
and,  with  two  Courts  created  by  it,  estab- 
lished a  new,  or  Independent  Order.  A.  B. 
Caldwell,  the  leader  of  the  niovement,  was 
the  first  Most  Worthy  High  Chief  Eanger. 
The  remarkable  success  which  has  attended 
the  growth  of  this  offshoot  from  English 
Forestry  is  attested  by  its  twenty-two  years 
of  existence  and  an  increase  of  from  perhaps 
500  to  more  than  100,000  members  in  twenty 
States  of  the  Union,  the  Canadian  Dominion, 
the  United  Kingdom,  and  Ireland.  About 
43  per  cent,  of  its  membership  is  in  the 
United  States.  Its  form  of  government, 
with  some  minor  differences,  is  like  that  of 
the  Foresters  of  America  and  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  It  furnishes 
members  with  free  medical  attendance  and 
nurses,  and  pays  sick,  total  disability, 
funeral,  and  mortuary  benefits.  A  marked 
difference  between  this  and  other  branches 
of  Forestry  is,  that  while  the  latter  rely 
wholly  upon  assessments  to  pay  benefits  and 
endowments,  the  Indej^endent  Order,  in 
1881,  combined  the  assessment  feature  of 
the  beneficiary  or  friendly  society,  with  the 
plan  of  the  regular  premium-paying  insur- 
ance comi)any.  In  1892  it  was  registered 
as  a  Friendly  Society  in  the  United  King- 
dom, and  under  the  requirements  of  the 
Friendly  Societies  Act,  deposited  with  the 
British  Government  £20,000  to  enable  it  to 
do  an  insurance  business  in  the  United 
Kingdom.  In  1875,  one  year  after  its  es- 
tablishment, a  ladies'  branch  was  formed, 
called  the  Miriam  degree,  which  corresponds 
to  the  degree  of  Companions  of  the  Forest 
in  the  Foresters  of  America.  In  1875,  also, 
a  Uniformed  Eank  was  instituted  as  the 
Glenwood  degree,  which  corresponds  to  the 


Knights  of  the  Sherwood  Forest  in  other 
branches  of  Forestry.  In  1877  juvenile 
branches  were  organized  in  which  youths 
were  interested,  taught  parliamentary  law, 
and  restrained  from  indulgence  in  liquor 
and  tobacco.  Since  1882,  when  the  juvenile 
de2)artment  was  reorganized,  it  has  become 
a  useful  and  successful  adjunct.  In  1875, 
when  only  one  year  old,  tiie  Order  had 
grown  from  three  Courts  and  500  members, 
with  which  it  began,  to  forty-six  Courts  and 
4,000  members;  and  in  1878,  when  its  mem- 
bership was  nearly  14,000,  the  title  of  the 
governing  body  was  changed  to  the  Most 
Worthy  High  Court  of  the  World,  the 
alteration  being  the  substitution  of  the 
words  "the  World"  for  "the  United 
States."  In  1878  the  Order  met  with  seri- 
ous disaster  in  the  unfaithfulness  of  an 
official,  who  disappeared  simultaneously 
with  about  117,000  of  its  funds.  Subse- 
quently about  one-third  of  the  amount  was 
restored,  but  so  great  was  the  loss  that  the 
efforts  of  the  Society  to  make  good  its  obli- 
gations by  extra  assessments  resulted  in 
serious  differences  which,  for  a  time,  threat- 
ened complete  disruption.  The  firm  stand 
taken  l)y  Judge  William  B.  Hoke,  then  the 
executive  head  of  the  Order,  his  judicial 
temperament,  strong  character,  and  wide 
personal  influence  alone  prevented  disinte- 
gration. A  large  number  of  Massachusetts 
Courts  held  out  for  State  as  opposed  to 
national  assessments  and  payments,  but 
ultimately  decided  to  remain  and  be  governed 
by  the  will  of  the  majority.  Not  so,  how- 
ever, with  some  of  the  Illinois  Courts,  which 
refused  to  abide  by  the  decisions  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  and  had  their  charters  revoked, 
whereupon  they  met  and  organized  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Foresters  of  Illinois. 
The  break  in  the  ranks  of  the  Illinois 
Independent  Order  of  Foresters  was  not  the 
only  like  consequence  of  the  financial  loss 
to  the  Order  in  1870.  Prior  to  the  Illinois 
movement,  the  Independent  Order  num- 
bered about  15,000,  and  the  total  loss  from 
secession  within   a  vear  was  no   less  than 


140 


INDEPENDENT   ORDER   OF   FORESTERS   OF   ILLINOIS 


4,000.  There  were,  as  pointed  out,  about 
2,500  seceders  in  Illinois,  to  which  must  be 
added  1,500  in  the  Canadian  Dominion,  in 
October,  1879,  by  whom  the  Canadian 
Order  of  Foresters  was  organized. 

It  was  in  1878,  also,  that  Foresters  in 
London,  Ontario,  planned  and  founded  the 
original  Order  of  Knights  of  the  Macca- 
bees. In  1881,  the  Independent  Order,  the 
larger  part  of  the  membership  of  which  was 
in  the  United  States,  suffered  its  severest 
blow  through  the  action  of  its  Supreme 
Court  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  in  resolving  to 
change  the  name  of  the  society  to  the 
United  Order  of  Foresters.  The  Canadian 
Courts  were  unwilling  to  abide  by  this,  and. 
found  fault  with  American  Courts  for  hav- 
ing made  changes  in  the  ritual,  for  eliminat- 
ing the  chaplain  from  the  list  of  officers, 
discarding  prayers  from  the  cerepmnies, 
and  for  holding  meetings  on  Sundays.  The 
result  was  the  continuation  of  the  Canadian 
Courts  as  the  Independent  Order  of  Forest- 
ers (the  claim  being  that  the  Courts  which 
changed  the  name  of  the  Order  were  the 
seceders),  and  at  the  High  Court  meeting  at 
Ottawa,  in  July,  1881,  with  a  total  mem- 
bership reduced  to  less  than  400  (excepting 
one  Court  in  Elizabeth,  N.  J.)  again  began 
the  work  of  building  u^i  the  Order.  The 
American,  or  seceding  branch,  that  which 
changed  its  name  to  the  United.  Order, 
though  it  started  with  about  13,000  mem- 
bers, did  not  possess  the  elements  of  suc- 
cess. It  languished,  and  within  a  few  years 
became  extinct.  Meanwhile  the  Indepen- 
dent Order,  almost  all  of  it  at  that  time  in  the 
CanadianDominion,went  resolutely  to  work, 
and,  notwithstanding  active  oj)position  from 
the  Canadian  Order,  secured,  within  two 
years,  a  list  of  1,700  members,  an  increase 
of  300  per  cent.  Two  years  later,  in  1885, 
it  numbered,  nearly  3,000  members,  and  in 
1889,  when  it  was  incorporated,  at  Toronto, 
more  than  14,000  members.  Between  1890 
and  1896  its  growth  was  phenomenal,  or 
from  16,000  to  nearly  87,000  members. 
Courts  were  established  in  Oregon,  Wash- 


ington, Colorado,  Montana,  Arizona,  Wis- 
consin, Pennsylvania,  Kansas,  in  1891,  and 
in  the  United  Kingdom  in  1893.  The 
spirit  shown  by  this  Society,  its  methods  of 
self-develoi^ment  and  of  conducting  its 
business  have  been  most  effective.  Under 
its  Supreme  Court  are  registered  thirty-two 
High  Courts  in  various  States,  Territories, 
provinces,  and  countries,  to  which  2,600 
subordinate  Courts  hold  allegiance.  And 
after,  nominally,  twenty-three  years  of  ex- 
istence (practically  only  fifteen  years),  with 
more  than  100,000  members,  it  has  a  sur- 
plus of  '$1,848,000,  after  having  paid  over 
$3,800,000  in  benefits.  Second  to  the  efforts 
of  no  other  man  in  organizing  and  extend- 
ing the  Independent  Order  of  Foresters  are 
those  of  its  Supreme  Chief  Eanger,  Dr. 
Oronhyatekha  of  Toronto,  Ont. 

Independent  Order  of  Foresters  of 
Illinois. — It  is  stated  by  various  chroniclers 
that  the  Independent  Order  of  Foresters  of 
Illinois,  which  was  formed  by  a  member  of 
the  Massachusetts  Catholic  Order  of  Forest- 
ers, and  by  seceding  members  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Foresters  of  Illinois,  at 
Chicago,  in  1879,  started  with  about  2,500 
members,  its  Courts  all  being  in  the  State 
of  Illinois,  most  of  them  in  and  about  the 
city  of  Chicago.  The  Miriam  degree  was 
carried  along  in  what  may  be  called  the 
Illinois  secession,  but  its  membership  was 
not  large  and  is  not  to-day.  A  novel  fea- 
ture is  found  in  its  modification  of  the  Glen- 
wood  degree  or  military  rank,  which  was 
also  retained,  in  that  ladies  are  admitted. 
This  Society  ]3ays  endowment  benefits  by 
assessments  and  sick  and  funeral  benefits 
from  Court  dues.  To  judge  from  statistics 
of  membership,  interest  in  the  Illinois  Order 
of  Foresters  has  been  on  the  decline.  In 
1880  it  had  more  than  2,500  members,  and 
late  in  1893,  21,160  members,  an  increase 
of  nearly  ninefold  in  thirteen  years.  Since 
that  time  the  membership  has  declined, 
amounting  to  only  20,107  in  January,  1894, 
18,376  in  January,  1895,  and  to  only  17,330 
one  year  later,  a  decline  of  about  one-seventh 


KNIGHTS   AND    LADIES   OF  AZAR 


141 


within  three  years.  In  1883  it  suffered 
from  the  secession  of  some  of  its  members  of 
the  Komau  Catholic  faith,  who  organized 
the  Catholic  Order  of  Foresters.  As  in  the 
case  of  other  secessions  from  like  societies, 
the  Illinois  Order  altered  enough  of  its  rit- 
ual and  means  of  recognition  to  give  it  in- 
dividuality, but  in  other  respects  it  followed 
in  the  footsteps  of  similar  secessions.  (See 
Independent  Order  of  Foresters.) 

ludepeudeiit  Order  of  Tininaciilates 
of  the  United  States  of  America. — Or- 
ganized at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  by  W.  A.  Ilad- 
ley,  June  23,  1872,  to  pay  sick,  accident, 
and  disability  benefits  to  members.  It  took 
its  rise  from  the  Young  Men's  Immaculate 
Association,  an  organization  of  colored  men, 
but  differed  in  that  it  patterned  after  vari- 
ous secret,  beneficiary  Orders,  and  admitted 
men  and  Avomen  as  members.  Its  head- 
quarters are  at  Nashville,  and  it  has  about 
5,000  members. 

Independent  Order  of  Meclianicts. — 
Organized  at  Baltimore  April  19,  18G8,  a 
benevolent,  beneficiary  fraternity  paying 
sick  and  accident  benefits  of  from  $1  to  $5 
weekly,  and  death  benefits  of  from  $200  to 
8400.  All  white  men  between  eighteen  and 
fifty  years  of  age  are  eligible  to  membership. 
The  Order  has  never  had  any  connection 
with  practical  mechanics  or  labor  organiza- 
tions. "When  founded,  the  only  prominent 
and  widesj^read  benevolent  fraternities  in 
the  country  were  the  Freemasons,  the  Odd 
Fellows,  and  the  Eed  Men.  There  were 
also  the  well-known  patriotic  Orders,  the 
United  American  Mechanics,  Senior  and 
Junior.  But  it  is  more  than  doubtful 
whether  either  of  the  latter  suggested  the 
name,  the  Independent  Order  of  Mechanics. 
The  fact  that  the  'Hhree  cardinal  princi- 
ples" of  the  latter  are  Friendship,  Truth, 
and  Love,  as  contrasted  with  the  Friendship, 
Love,  and  .Truth  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  suggests  that  some  of  the 
founders  of  the  "Independent  Order  of'' 
Mechanics  were  Odd  Fellows,  which  is 
borne  out  by  the  use  by  both  of  a  representa- 


tion of  Jacob's  ladder  and  the  ark  among 
their  emblems.  The  Order  has  about  10,000 
members,  and  has  paid  nearly  §500,000  for 
the  relief  of  members  and  to  their  bene- 
ficiaries. 

Illinois  Order  of  Mutual  Aid. — Organ- 
ized for  the  purpose  expressed  in  its  title  at 
Springfield,  111.,  June  17,  1878,  when  its 
first  Grand  Lodge  meeting  was  held.  It 
took  its  rise  from  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  and  pays  §2,000,  ?!l,000, 
and  $500  death  benefits  "and  accrued  as- 
sessments." In  the  latter  feature  it  differs 
from  the  organization  last  named.  Men 
alone  are  eligible  to  join  the  Order,  the 
membership  of  which  is  G,000. 

Independent  Workmen  of  America. 
— A  Nebraska  fraternal  and  beneficial  asso- 
ciation of  recent  origin.  Its  headquarters 
are  at  Omaha. 

Iowa  Legion  of  Honor. — A  social  and 
beneficiary  assessment  Order,  designed  for 
men  and  women,  residents  of  the  State  of 
Iowa  only.  Removal  from  the  State  does 
not  forfeit  membership.  The  beneficiary 
divisions  for  men  and  for  women  are  sepa- 
rate. The  secret  work  and  ceremonies  are 
described  as  "simple  but  lasting."  Subor- 
dinate Lodges  elect  representatives  to  the 
Grand  Lodge,  who  with  the  officers  thereof 
constitute  that  body.  The  Grand  Lodge 
meets  biennially,  and  the  government  is 
more  representative  than  in  like  societies 
which  subordinate  Grand  or  State  Lodges 
to  a  Supreme  body.  Members'  lives  are  in- 
sured for  $1,000  or  $2,000.  The  total  mem- 
bership is  about  7,500.  A  prominent  oftieial 
states  that  the  founders  were  not  members 
of  any  other  particular  organization  of  like 
nature.     (See  American  Legion  of  Honor.) 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  Azar. — A  re- 
organization of  the  Knights  of  Azar,'  a  fra 
ternal,  beneliciary,  and  jiatriotic  Order 
founded  at  Chicago  in  1893.  Under  the 
reorganization  ladies  are  to  be  admitted  on 
equal  terms  with  men.  In  June,  1897, 
there  were  300  members  enrolled,  and  as 
soon  as  500  were  obtained  the  Society  was 


142 


KNIGHTS   AND   LADIES   OF   HONOR 


to  be  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  Illinois 
affecting  organizations  paying  deatli,  acci- 
dent, disability,  and  old  age  benefits  by 
means  of  mutual  assessments. 

Kniglits  and  Ladies  of  Honor. — This 
Avas  the  first  secret  beneficiary  society  to 
admit  women  to  equal  social  and  beneficiary 
privileges  with  men,  and  is  otherwise  note- 
Avorthy  in  that  it  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  side 
or  auxiliary  degree  knoAvn  as  the  degree 
of  Protection,  which  was  attached  to  the 
Knights  of  Honor  from  1875  until  1877. 
Knights  of  Honor,  their  wives,  mothers, 
Avidows,  and  unmarried  daughters  and  sis- 
ters over  eighteen  years  of  age  were  eligible 
to  the  degree  of  Protection,  which  per- 
formed the  same  social  and  beneficiary  func- 
tions for  the  Knights  of  Honor  that  the 
Daughters  of  Eebekah  does  for  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Only  a  few 
Lodges  of  the  degree  of  Protection  Avere  or- 
ganized during  1875  and  1876,  but  little  en- 
couragement being  given  by  the  Supreme 
Lodge  of  Knights  of  Honor,  which  body  in 
May,  1877,  repealed  the  law  creating  the 
degree.  On  September  G,  1877,  representa- 
tives from  Lodges  of  the  degree  of  Protection 
met  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  to  discuss  the  con- 
dition of  affairs,  and,  if  possible,  effect  a  per- 
manent organization.  The  outcome  Avas 
the  formation  of  a  Provisional  Supreme 
Lodge  for  the  degree,  of  which  the  folloAv- 
ing,  all  of  Kentucky,  were  the  first  officers: 
E.  J.  Williamson,  T.  W.  Seymour,  E.  J. 
McBride,  F.  D.  Macbeth,  C.  L.  Piper,  J.  A. 
Demaree,  W.  E.  Ladd,  K.  H.  Seng,  0.  N. 
Bradburn,  T.  E.  Dennis,  G.  W.  Check,  and 
T.  J.  Wyatt.  The  first  annual  meeting  of 
the  "  Supreme  Lodge  of  Protection,  Knights 
and  Ladies  of  Honor,"  Avas  held  at  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  September  19,  1878,  and  in  April 
of  the  folloAving  year  the  Supreme  Lodge  of 
Protection,  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor, 
was  incorporated.  On  December  14,  1881, 
the  General  Assembly  of  Kentucky  amended 
the  act  of  incorporation  by  striking  out  the 
words  "  of  Protection,"  and  so  changing  the 
membership  limitation  clause  as  to  render 


eligible  to  membership  "  all  acceptable  Avhite 
jiersons,  male  and  female."  The  original 
act  of  1878  fixed  the  amount  of  benefit  pay- 
able on  the  death  of  a  member  at  a  sum  not 
exceeding  11,000,  but  the  amendatory  act 
of  1881  increased  the  limit  of  benefit  pay- 
able at  deatli  of  a  member  to  15,000,  which 
changes  constitute  the  foundation  of  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  the  Order  of 
Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor  of  to-day,  the 
date  of  the  independent  existence  of  Avhich 
is  September  C,  1877.  The  amount  paid  on 
each  single  assessment  by  each  member  de- 
l^ends  uj^on  the  age  at  joining  the  Order  and 
amount  of  benefit  carried.  On  June  30, 
1878j  its  membership  was  as  folloAvs:  Men, 
907;  women,  1,018;  total,  1,925.  On 
December  31,  1895,  men,  39,933;  women, 
43,083;  total,  83,005.  The  objects  of  the 
Fraternity  are  (1)  to  unite  fraternally  all  ac- 
ceptable Avhite  men  and  women  of  any  repu- 
table profession,  business,  or  occupation'  who 
are  over  eighteen  and  under  fifty  years  of 
age.  (3)  To  give  all  possible  moral  and  ma- 
terial aid  in  its  power  to  its  members,  and 
those  depending  upon  them,  by  holding 
moral,  literary,  and  scientific  lectures,  by 
encouraging  each  other  in  business,  and  by 
assisting  each  other  to  obtain  employment. 
(3)  To  promote  benevolence  and  charity  by 
establishing  a  relief  fund.  This  fund  is 
maintained  by  monthly  assessments  on  those 
members  Avho  desire  to  participate  in  it, 
who  are  distinguished  in  the  laws  of  the 
Order  as  Eelief  Fund  members.  The  Relief 
Fund  Deiiartment  comprises  three  open 
divisions:  Division  1,  of  1500;  Division  3, 
of  11,000;  Division  3,  of  $3,000;  Division  4, 
of  13,000,  but  the  last-named  division  is 
noAV  closed  to  entrants.  Upon  satisfactory 
proof  of  the  death  of  a  Eelief  Fund  mem- 
ber, in  good  standing  at  time  of  death,  such 
sum  of  money  is  paid  to  the  designated 
beneficiary  as  the  deceased  had  in  life  con- 
tributed for,  and  Avhich  Avas  specified  in  the 
Eelief  Fund  certificate  held  by  the  member 
at  the  date  of  death.  Benefits  are  payable 
to  "  such  member  or  members  of  his  or  her 


KNIGHTS   AND   LADIES   OF   SECURITY 


143 


family,  person  or  persons  dependent  on  or 
related  to  him  or  her,  as  he  or  she  may  have 
directed."  The  Order  has  paid  out  in  death 
benefits  during  nineteen  years  -^1 1,042,000. 
Any  acceptable  Avhite  person,  not  less  than 
eighteen  nor  more  than  sixty-five  years  of 
age,  may  be  admitted  as  a  social  member 
without  medical  examination.  These  mem- 
bers pay  the  usual  Lodge  dues,  but  are  ex- 
empt from  contributing  to  the  Relief  Fund. 
The  business  of  this  Order  is  conducted 
through  a  Supreme  Lodge,  Grand  Lodges, 
coextensive  with  their  several  State  bounda- 
ries, and  subordinate  Lodges.  It  has  six- 
teen Grand  Lodges,  but  its  membership  is 
distributed  in  nearly  every  State  of  the 
Union.  Representatives  chosen  by  subordi- 
nate Lodges  constitute  the  several  Grand 
Lodges,  and  representatives  chosen  by  the 
several  Grand  Lodges  constitute,  with  its  offi- 
cers and  committeemen,  the  Supreme  Lodge. 
The  Supreme  Lodge  conducts,  exclusively, 
the  collection  and  disburseijient  of  the  Re- 
lief Fund,  and  has  full  power  to  make  laws 
for  its  own  government,  and  to  govern 
Grand  and  subordinate  Lodges. 

Less  effort  has  been  made  by  the  Knights 
and  Ladies  of  Honor  to  make  that  organi- 
zation distinct  from  the  Knights  of  Honor 
than  has  sometimes  been  the  case  by  off- 
shoots from  secret  societies,  the  comparison 
being  found  rather  with  schisms  among  Odd 
Fellows  and  Foresters,  so  many  independent 
Orders  of  which  exist  with  similar  names, 
titles,  emblems,  and  rituals.  The  seal  of 
the  Supreme  Lodge  of  the  Knights  and 
Ladies  of  Honor  contains  the  representation 
of  a  knight  in  armor,  with  sword  and  shield, 
ready  to  defend  and  protect  the  widow  and 
children  which,  with  a  broken  column,  are 
also  represented.  Upon  the  shield  held  by 
the  knight,  who  symbolizes  the  Order,  are 
the  letters  0.  M.  A.  in  the  angles  of  a  tri- 
angle. The  seal  of  the  Supreme  Lodge  of 
the  mother  Order,  the  Knights  of  Honor, 
is  similar,  except  that  the  knight  stands  with 
his  shield  arm  raised.  The  triangle  and  the 
broken  column  are  missing,  but  the  letters 


O.  ^[.  A.,  which  probably  refer  to  the  motto 
of  the  Order,  ai)pear  ou  an  ornamental 
shield  over  the  design.  The  best  known 
emblem  of  the  Knights  of  Honor  is  a  mono- 
gram formed  of  the  letters  0.  M.  A.,  and 
of  the  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor,  a  jien- 
dant  triangular  design,  in  tlie  angles  of 
which  the  same  letters  appear.  It  is  of  in- 
terest to  point  out  that  the  experience  of 
the  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor  shows 
that  its  risks  on  women  members  have  con- 
stantly proven  the  better  of  the  two  classes. 
L.  D.  Witherill,  M.D.,  Supreme  Medical 
Examiner  of  the  Order  for  the  twelve  years, 
reports  out  of  the  first  8,000  deaths  (De- 
cember 26,  1877,  to  June  10,  1895,  inclu- 
sive) -4,198  were  of  men  and  3,802  women. 
The  same  authority  says,  concerning  the 
character  and  desirability  of  women  as  in- 
surance risks :  ' '  Statistics  show  that  the  life 
of  females,  as  a  rule,  is  longer  than  that  of 
males.  Their  exposure  to  violent  deaths 
and  abuse  of  intoxicants  is  far  less.  From 
a  medical  standi:)oint  I  would  urge  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Order  to  increase  their  ranks  as 
far  as  possible  from  the  women  of  our  land. " 
(See  Loyal  Knights  and  Ladies.) 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  Security. — One 
of  the  more  modern  and  progressive  of  the 
latter-day  mutual  assessment,  death  and 
disability  beneficiary  secret  societies,  to 
which  both  men  and  women  are  eligible. 
It  was  chartered  under  the  laws  of  the  State 
of  Kansas  February  22,  1892,  with  its  head- 
quarters at  Topeka,  by  members  of  the 
^lasonic  Fraternity,  the  xVncient  Order  of 
United  "Workmen,  one  or  both  Orders  of 
Woodmen,  and  others.  It  eliminates  the 
expensive  and  generally  unnecessary  State 
organization  usually  found  in  similar  soci- 
eties, its  National  Council  being  composed 
of  representatives  from  subordinate  Coun- 
cils elected  by  a  direct  vote  of  tiie  members. 
It  operates  throughout  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  north  of  Xorth  Carolina,  Ten- 
nessee, Arkansas,  Oklahoma,  New  Mexico, 
and  Arizona,  excluding  cities  of  150,000 
population   and    over.      Admission,    as    in 


144 


KNIGHTS    AND   LADIES   OF   THE   FIRESIDE 


most  such  societies,  is  restricted  to  white 
persons  of  good  moral  character  between 
eighteen  and  fifty-five  years  of  age  who  can 
pass  a  satisfactory  physical  examination. 
Certificates  or  policies  are  issued  to  men  and 
women  members  alike  for  sums  ranging 
from  $500  to  13,000.  These  are  paid  by 
means  of  graded  assessments,  in  full  at 
death,  or  in  part  in  case  of  disability  by 
accident.  Holders  who  reach  the  age  of 
seventy  receive  one-tenth  of  the  amount  of 
the  policies  each  year  until  the  face  is  paid. 
A  feature  of  the  organization  is  its  reserve 
fund,  which  is  created  by  setting  aside  150 
on  each  11,000  named  in  certificates,  and 
loaning  it  on  real  estate  mortgage  security. 
It  is  used  to  meet  death  losses  after  twelve 
monthly  assessments, have  been  made  within 
a  year.  In  explaining  its  reserve  fund  the 
announcement  is  made  that  the  plan  of  cre- 
ating it  has  been  copyrighted,  and  ''  its  j^er- 
petual  use  secured  to  the  Order."  The 
growth  of  the  Order  has  been  unusually 
rapid,  its  total  membership  amounting  to 
about  25,000  in  one-third  the  States  of  the 
Union,  a  tribute  to  the  efficiency  of  the 
salaried  organizers  of  new  Councils  and  to 
the  enthusiasm  and  loyalty  of  the  rank  and 
file  of  its  membership,  in  which  it  may  be 
said  to  have  fairly  rivalled  the  vitality  shown 
by  almost  any  similar  society.  Councils  of 
Knights  and  Ladies  of  Security  are  practi- 
cally private  social  clubs  rather  than  mystic 
temples,  but  the  ritual  and  ceremonial  are 
instructive  and  attractive,  being  well  calcu- 
lated to  impress  upon  the  mind  of  the  no- 
vitiate the  importance  of  wisdom,  security, 
protection,  and  fraternity. 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  the  Fireside. 
— A  mutual  assessment  beneficiary  organiza- 
tion, founded  at  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  in  1893, 
by  representatives  of  kindred  organizations 
in  Missouri  and  Kansas.  It  issues  life,  acci- 
dent, and  sick  benefit  certificates  in  separate 
classes.  It  admits  men  and  women  alike, 
and  has  about  5,000  members  pointing  to  an 
exceptionally  rapid  growth.  At  the  death 
of  a  member  or  lapse  of  a  membershi]:),  10 


per  cent,  of  the  amount  paid  into  the  bene- 
ficiary fund  by  the  deceased  or  former  mem- 
ber is  invested  by  the  Supreme  Lodge  to 
form  a  permanent  fund  with  Avhich  to  pro- 
vide for  the  payment  of  assessments  of  mem- 
bers of  fifteen  (or  twenty)  years'  standing. 
The  services  of  S.  IL  Snider,  ex-Superin- 
tendent of  Insurance  of  the  State  of  Kansas, 
as  Sujireme  Secretary  of  the  Knights  and 
Ladies  of  the  Fireside,  are  an  evidence  of 
the  intelligence  and  enthusiasm  with  which 
the  society  has  entered  the  already  well-filled 
field  of  fraternal  insurance  orders. 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  the  Golden 
Precept. — Founded  by  Thomas  Gauderup, 
E.  E.  Everhart,  W.  B.  Davison,  and  John 
Iverson  at  Clinton,  la.,  in  189G,  and  incor- 
porated under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Iowa 
with  social  and  beneficiary  objects.  It  con- 
templates establishing  Lodges  throughout 
the  Union. 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  the  Goklen 
Rule. — One  of  the  older  but  smaller  secret 
beneficiary  societies,  combining  many  of  the 
features  of  other  like  organizations  with 
some  of  its  own.  It  was  organized  at  Cin- 
cinnati, 0.,  in  August,  1879,  and  incor- 
porated under  the  laws  of  Kentucky  in  the 
same  month.  The  founders  were  members 
of  other  beneficiary  fraternal  societies,  no- 
tably the  Order  of  Mutual  Aid,  which  suc- 
cumbed to  the  yellow  fever  epidemic  at 
Memphis,  early  in  its  career,  in  1878  ;  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  and 
the  Knights  of  Honor.  A  few  representa- 
tives and  officers  met  in  final  session  at  Cin- 
cinnati, and  after  settling  claims  against  the 
Order  of  Mutual  Aid  adjourned  sine  die. 
A  majority  of  those  present  then  met  and 
organized  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eule, 
which  has  preserved  with  varying  success 
a  continuous  existence  ever  since.  The 
headquarters  of  the  Order  are  at  Louisville, 
Ky.,  and  the  form  of  government  is  much 
like  that  of  similar  societies,  including  a 
Supreme  Commandery,  Grand  Chapters 
having  jurisdiction  in  the  States,  and  Sub- 
ordinate Castles.  Funds  paid  to  beneficiaries 


KNIGHTS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 


145 


of  members  of  the  Order  are  not  sub- 
ject to  legal  process  for  the  collection  of 
debts.  The  emblem  of  the  Fraternity  is  a 
shield,  on  uiiich  are  the  letters  K.  G.  R., 
over  a  circle  on  which  is  inscribed  the 
Golden  Rule,  in  the  centre  of  which  are  a 
pair  of  clasped  hands.  Below  are  five  links 
of  a  chain,  containing  F.  and  P.,  which 
may  or  may  not  stand  for  Friendship  and 
Protection.  The  employment  of  detached 
links,  symbolical  of  a  chain  of  brotherhood, 
is  one  of  the  few  instances  in  which  an 
adaptation  of  the  triple  link  of  Odd  Fel- 
lowship is  fonnd  among  the  more  modern 
secret  societies. 

The  Order  is  divided  into  three  sections, 
and  provides  for  the  i)aYment  of  a  speci- 
fied sum  on  the  death  of  a  member  as  fol- 
lows :  first  section,  loOO  ;  second  section, 
$1,000,  and  third  section,  $2,000.  Any 
white  man  or  woman  eighteen  years  of  age, 
and  not  over  fifty,  may  be  enrolled  a  bene- 
ficiary member.  There  is  a  scale  of  assess- 
ments graded  according  to  age.  The 
graded  assessment  plan  was  adopted  in 
1892  in  place  of  the  level  assessment  plan 
used  at  time  of  organization.  A  Grand 
Chapter  has  supervision  of  the  work  in  a 
State  and  elects  one  or  more  representatives 
to  the  Supreme  Commandery,  which  has 
entire  control  of  the  beneficiary  depart- 
ment, and  a  general  supervision  of  the 
Order  at  large.  The  organization  has  Cas- 
tles in  Alabama,  Arkansas,  California, 
Georgia,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Missouri,  New 
Jersey,  North  Carolina,  Ohio,  South  Caro- 
lina, Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Massachusetts, 
Minnesota,  Mississippi,  Tennessee,  Texas, 
Virginia,  and  West  Virginia,  and  the  total 
membership  is  over  3,000. 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  the  Gohleii 
Star. — An  assessment,  charitable,  and  bene- 
ficiary society,  founded  at  Newark,  N.  J., 
January  11,  1884,  having  its  permanent 
headquarters  at  Newark.  For  a  few  years 
the  organization  was  local  in  character,  but 
afterward  established  Lodges  in  New  York 
State  and  elsewhere  in  New  Jersey.  Men  and 
10 


women  between  sixteen  and  sixty-five  years 
of  age  and  children  are  eligible  to  meniber- 
shij).  Its  beneficiary  certificates  of  $500, 
$1,000,  $1,500,  or  $2,000,  i)ayable  at  death, 
may  be  converted  into  paid-up  insurance 
after  ten  years.  It  appeals  to  young  men  and 
women  to  take  out  certificates  of  insurance 
in  small  amounts,  which,  "  in  the  event  of  a 
long  life,  will  bring  in  a  rich  accumulation  of 
the  original  face  value.''  Annuities  are  paid 
those  Avho  are  fifty  years  of  age  and  have 
been  members  twenty-one  years,  and  one-half 
the  face  value  of  certificates  is  paid  at  total 
disability.  The  Society  is  unique  in  that 
it  receives  into  membership  entire  families, 
'^  children  being  received  into  the  immedi- 
ate relief  department  in  sums  ranging  from 
$50  up  to  $400.  Its  present  membership  is 
about  10,000.  The  original  members  were 
members  of  the  Royal  Templars  of  Temper- 
ance, but  the  Order  may  hardly  be  classed 
as  a  temperance  organization,  though  it  ex- 
cludes saloon  keepers  and  bartenders  from 
membership.  Its  "golden  star"  refers  to 
the  Star  of  Bethlehem,  and  it  has  no  secrets 
beyond  the  password  to  exclude  those  not 
members  from  its  meetings.  It  has  paid 
nearly  $700,000  in  benefits  since  it  was 
founded. 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  the  Roiiitd 
Table.— Organized  in  1887,  and  registered 
in  census  reports  of  1890  as  a  mutual  assess- 
ment insurance  order  for  men  and  women, 
with  headquartersat  Bloomington,  111.  Let- 
ters addressed  there  are  returned  unojiened; 
but  there  is  still  an  organization  by  the  same 
name  in  Central  Western  States,  notably  at 
Toledo,  0. 

Kniglits  and  Ladies  of  AVashingfon. 
— A  social  and  beneficiary  organization 
founded  at  Easton,  Pa.  Not  known  there 
now. 

Knights  of  Aur<n*a. — Organized  at  Min- 
neapolis prior  to  1889  as  a  mutual  insurance 
society.      Not  known  there  now. 

Kniglits  of  l$irniingiiani. — Founded  at 
Philadelphia  in  1873  by  Peter  Jones,  Edwin 
Smith,  and  John  Weldc,  three  Freemasons, 


146 


KNIGHTS   OF   COLUMBIA 


as  a  mutual  assessment  beneficiary  society, 
to  which  only  Master  Masons  between 
twenty-one  and  fifty  years  of  age  are  eligi- 
ble. It  issues  certificates  of  $1,000  each, 
payable  at  death,  and  has  expended  in  this 
manner  more  than  11,000,000.  Its  total 
membership  is  about  5,000,  most  of  whom 
reside  at  or  near  Philadelphia.  A  Grand 
Lodge  was  organized  in  1877,  which  consists 
of  all  Past  Sir  Chiefs  and  the  five  elective 
otHccrs  of  subordinate  Lodges. 

Knights  of  Columbia. — A  Topeka, 
Kan.,  fraternal,  mutual  benefit  organiza- 
tion. Its  Lodges  are  scattered  through 
West  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Valley  States. 
The  membership  is  not  large. 

Knig'hts  of  Honor. — The  line  of  descent 
of  the  Knights  of  Honor  in  the  family  of 
beneficiary  secret  societies  is  direct  from  the 
parent  death  benefit  assessment  society,  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  seventeen 
members  of  which,  including  members  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  led  by 
James  A.  Demaree,  founded  the  Knights 
of  Honor  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  1873.  It 
has  been  very  successful  in  that  it  ranked  in 
numerical  strength  among  the  first  half- 
dozen  similar  Orders,  with  a  total  member- 
ship of  120,000  in  1895,  which  fell  off  to 
96,000  in  1897,  during  reorganization,  when 
its  assessment  plan  was  remodelled  and 
brought  down  to  date.  Its  purposes  are  to 
unite,  fraternally,  acceptable  white  men  of 
good  moral  character  and  sound  bodily 
health;  to  lead  them  to  assist  each  other  in 
distress,  in  business,  and  the  search  for  em- 
ployment, which  are  characteristic  of  many 
similar  societies,  and  to  establish  a  widows' 
and  orphans'  benefit  fund  of  not  less  than 
$500  nor  more  than  $2,000,  to  be  paid  to 
families  of  deceased  members.  The  so- 
called  secrecy  which  attaches  to  the  Frater- 
nity is  declared  to  be  only  such  as  is  necessary 
to  keep  out  intruders  and  unworthy  men 
from  its  benefits ;  upright  men  of  all  politi- 
cal parties  and  religious  creeds  being  wel- 
come to  its  ranks.  No  oath  is  administered 
to  candidates  for  initiation,  "  only  a  prom- 


ise "  to  obey  the  laws  of  the  Order  and 
"  i)rotect  a  worthy  brother  in  his  adversities 
and  afflictions."  The  would-be  member  is 
required  to  profess  a  belief  in  Cxod,  and 
must  be  able  to  earn  a  livelihood  for  himself 
and  family.  A  member  may  carry  $500, 
$1,000,  or  $2,000  insurance,  and  assessments 
to  meet  jiayments  of  death  benefits  are  as- 
sessed at  the  lowest  limit,  graded  according 
to  age.*  More  than  $52,000,000  has  been 
paid  in  death  benefits  within  the  twenty- 
three  years  since  the  Society  was  organized. 
Beneficiai'ies  must  be  the  nearest  dependent 
relatives.  Certificates  of  membership  cannot 
be  used  as  collateral,  nor  are  moneys  paid  in 
their  redemption  subject  to  seizure  to  satisfy 
debts  of  the  insured.  Lodges  pay  sick  benefits 
to  members  at  their  option,  and  handle  their 
own  funds  to  that  end.  Death  benefit  funds 
are  jiaid  to  and  disbursed  by  the  Supreme 
Lodge.  The  government  of  the  Order,  like 
that   of    the   Independent    Order   of    Odd 

*  The  Knights  of  Honor  took  one  step  in  advance 
of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  in  that, 
while  the  latter  assessed  all  raembei's  a  uniform 
sura  to  pay  a  death  benefit  (and  still  does),  the  for- 
mer found  an  excuse  for  existence  in  its  original 
plan  of  assessment  by  which  members  between  45 
aud  55  years  of  age  paid  more  than  those  between 
21  and  45.  Fi'om  that  period,  1873-75,  the  work 
of  evolution  among  fraternal  assessment  societies 
went  rapidly  on,  the  next  step  being  the  grading  of 
assessments,  and  later  an  increasing  assessment  ac- 
cording to  age.  It  was  not  long  befoi-e  the  Knights 
of  Honor  admitted  to  membership  persons  between 
18  and  21  years  of  age  and  adopted  graded  assess- 
ments for  all  joining  thereafter,  up  to  the  age  of 
45.  By  1894-95  it  became  plain  that  the  system  of 
paying  a  fixed  assessment  year  after  year,  deter- 
mined by  the  age  of  the  member  at  date  of  joining 
the  society,  would  sooner  or  later  be  found  wanting; 
and  in  1895  the  Knights  of  Honor,  after  prolonged 
investigation,  adopted  a  plan  of  insurance  based 
on  a  different  rate  of  assessment  for  each  age,  be- 
ginning with  18  and  ending  with  61,  increasing 
from  year  to  year.  The  effect,  it  is  declared,  will 
be  that  each  member  in  any  one  year  will  pay  only 
the  sum  needed  for  benefits  on  deaths  among 
members  of  his  own  age,  based  on  mortality 
tables  and  the  experience  of  assessment  beneficiary 
secret  societies.  This  radical  change  has  resulted 
advantaireouslv. 


KNIGHTS  OF   SOBRIETY,  FIDELITY,  AND    IXTKciHITY 


147 


Fellows,  the  Foresters,  and  nearly  all  siniilai- 
organizations,  is  centred  in  a  Supreme  Lodge 
made  up  of  representatives  df  (J rand  (State) 
Lodges.  The  latter  are  composed  of  repre- 
sentatives of  subordinate  Lodges,  and  have 
jurisdiction  over  the  affairs  of  the  Order  in 
their  respective  States.  Nearly  all  tlie  larger 
assessment  beneficiary  organizations  are  re- 
sponsible directly  or  indirectly  for  the  cre- 
ation of  similar  societies,  either  through 
schism  born  of  rivalry  among  would-be  lead- 
ers or  by  having  served  as  models,  or  other- 
wise, and  the  Knights  of  Honor  prove  no 
exception.  In  1875  the  Supreme  Lodge 
established  a  side  or  auxiliary  degree  enti- 
tled the  degree  of  I'rotection,  to  which 
Knights  of  Honor,  their  wives,  mothers, 
nnmarried  danghters  and  sisters,  eighteen 
or  more  years  of  age,  were  eligible.  Only  a 
few  Lodges  of  this  degree  were  instituted 
during  the  next  year  or  two  (see  Knights 
and  Ladies  of  Honor),  and  in  1877  the  Su- 
preme Lodge  repealed  the  law  creating  the 
degree,  whereupon  representatives  of  the 
degree  met  at  Louisville  and  organized  an 
inde2:iendent  secret  assessment  beneficiary 
society  for  men  and  women  under  the  title. 
The  Order  of  Protection  of  Knights  and 
Ladies  of  Honor,  which  was  subsequently 
changed  to  the  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor. 
The  Knights  of  Honor,  while  among  the 
better  and  favorably  known  of  like  soci- 
eties, has  not  attained  its  present  eminence 
without  intelligent  and  persistent  work  on 
the  part  of  hundreds  of  prominent  business 
and  professional  men  Avho  have  been  and 
still  are  members.  Of  Western  origin,  it 
early  spread  to  the  East  and  the  South. 
From  17  members  who  founded  the  Order, 
the  membership  increased  to  1)9  by  the  close 
of  1873,  but  one  year  later  it  had  grown  ten- 
fold, with  999  names  on  the  roll.  From 
1875  the  Society's  increase  was  rapid  until 
1878,  when  the  yellow  fever  epidemic  was 
the  cause  of  its  first  serious  reverse.  In 
that  year  alone  the  Order  suffered  a  drain 
on  its  financial  resources  of  8385,000,  the 
result  of  the  death  of  193  members.     Dur- 


ing nearly  all  of  the  past  eighteen  years  in- 
crease in  membership  and  in  popularity  has 
characterized  the  Fraternity.  Its  Supreme 
Lodge  is  made  up  of  representatives  of  36 
Orand  Lodges,  to  which  are  attached  3,000 
subordinate  Lodges  with  an  average  of  50 
members  each. 

Kiiijjhts  of  Honor  of  tlie  AVorhl. — A 
new  fraternal  insurance  society,  with  head- 
quarters at  Natchez,  Miss.  It  appears  to 
have  used  the  name  of  another  organization. 

Knights  of  the  Seven  AVise  3Ien  of 
the  WorUl. — The  United  States  census  of 
1890  names  this  Society  among  others 
founded  to  do  an  insurance  business,  but 
nothing  is  known  of  it  at  Nashville,  Avhere 
its  chief  office  Avas  located.  Its  title  sug- 
gests that  it  Avas  an  offshoot  from  or  related 
in  some  Avay  to  the  Improved  Order  of,  or 
to  the  Order  of  the  Heptasophs. 

Kniglits  of  Sobriety,  Fidelity,  and 
Integrity. — A  mutual  assessment  benefici- 
ary society  for  men,  organized  at  Syracuse, 
N.  Y.,  in  1890.  It  does  business  in  nearly 
a  dozen  States,  but  a  large  proportion  of  its 
5,000  luembers  are  residents  of  the  Empire 
State.  It  issues  death  certificates  for  $500, 
$1,000,  and  12,000,  and  pays  accident  and 
sick  benefits  of  §5,  §10,  815,  820,  and  $25 
Aveekly.  The  latter  are  limited  to  fi\'e  con- 
secutive weeks,  and  to  tAventy  weeks  alto- 
gether in  any  one  year.  Three  rates  of 
assessments  are  offered  members,  the  lowest 
of  Avhich  delays  the  period  at  Avhich  the 
benefit  goes  into  effect,  but  makes  the  in- 
surance easier  to  carry.  The  second  rate  is 
based  on  a  shorter  delay  in  putting  into 
operation  the  death  benefit  contract,  while 
the  third  makes  the  insurance  operative 
from  the  moment  of  joining.  The  loss  of 
one  hand  and  arm  above  the  wrist,  or  one 
foot  and  leg  above  the  ankle,  entitles  a 
member  to  one-sixth  the  amount  due  under 
his  certificate  in  case  of  death.  In  case  of 
the  loss  of  both  hands  and  arms  above  the 
Avrist,  or  both  feet  and  legs  above  the  ankles, 
he  is  entitled  to  one-third  the  face  of  the 
certificate.     Members  Avho  arrive  at  the  aire 


148 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE   BLUE   CROSS   OF   THE   WORLD 


of  seventy  years  are  entitled  to  10  per  cent. 
of  the  amount  named  in  the  certiticate  each 
year  until  one-half  the  amount  named  in 
the  certificate  is  paid.  All  surplus  of  pre- 
miums after  the  payment  of  claims,  is  set 
aside  as  a  reserve  fund,  "  to  j)rovide  against 
excessive  mortality  in  any  one  j^ear. ' '  Loans 
on  real  estate  security  are  made  to  members 
on  the  monthly  payment  plan  in  States 
where  the  Order  is  incorporated. 

Knights  of  the  Blue  Cross  of  the 
World. — Organized  at  Homer,  Mich.,  in 
1888,  to  pay  $1,000  and  $2,000  death  bene- 
fits by  means  of  mutual  assessments  of  mem- 
bers. It  also  paid  weekly  benefits  in  cases 
of  sickness  of  members.  The  organization 
is  not  known  now  to  the  postal  officials. 

Knights  of  the  Brotherhood. — A  mu- 
tual assessmeut  beneficiary  Order  founded 
prior  to  1889,  which  reported  to  the  United 
States  tenth  census  from  Phoenixville,  Pa., 
but  is  now  unknown  there. 

Knights  of  the  Globe. — A  social,  mili- 
tary, charitable,  and  patriotic  secret  organi- 
zation which  secures  the  death  benefit  fea- 
ture to  its  members  through  the  Knights 
of  the  Globe  Mutual  Benefit  Association,  a 
non-secret,  cooperative  insurance  company, 
organized  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  to  which  only  Knights  of  the  Globe 
are  eligible.  Men  and  women  may  become 
members  of  both  organizations,  the  latter 
first  joining  the  Daughters  of  the  Globe,  a 
branch  of  the  Knights  of  the  Globe.  The 
mutual  aid  society  through  the  Knights  is 
recruited  from  the  more  healthful  portions 
of  the  United  States,  and  announces  special 
inducements  to  young  men  because  of  its 
uniform  rate  of  assessments.  It  issues  death 
benefit  certificates  for  ten  different  amounts, 
ranging  from  $500  to  15,000,  to  those  be- 
tween eighteen  and  fifty-six  years  of  age 
who  are  otherwise  eligible.  The  Knights 
of  the  Globe  was  organized  at  Chicago  in 
1889  by  Freemasons  prominent  in  the  Scot- 
tish Rite,  by  Odd  Fellows  of  the  highest 
rank,  and  by  members  of  the  Ancient  Or- 
der of  United  Workmen,  Royal  Arcanum, 


American  Legion  of  Honor,  Woodmen  of 
the  World,  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub- 
lic, and  other  secret  societies.  The  influ- 
ence of  the  Workmen  is  seen  in  the  uniform 
assessment  rate,  that  of  the  Freemasons  and 
Odd  Fellows  in  the  degree  work  and  em- 
blems, and  the  Grand  Army  in  its  obliga- 
tion that  ''  no  other  flag  than  the  glorious 
Stars  and  Stripes  shall  ever  fioat  over  our 
country."  Four  degrees  or  ranks  are  con- 
ferred, that  of  Volunteer,  Militant,  Knight, 
and  Valiant  Knight.  Of  the  latter  L.  L. 
Munn,  33°,  of  Freeport,  111.,  writes  that 
while  he  is  familiar  with  many  Orders  and 
has  witnessed  ceremonies  of  the  highest 
grade  of  excellence,  the  beauty,  instruction, 
and  impressiveness  of  the  Valiant  Knight's 
rank  take  a  very  high  rank  among  them. 
One  of  the  chief  objects  of  the  Fraternity  is 
to  inculcate  lofty  ideas  of  American  citizen- 
ship. While  the  Order  is  Avell  distributed 
throughout  the  West,  it  is  strong  in  Illinois, 
where  a  large  proportion  of  its  7,000  mem- 
bers reside. 

Knights  of  the  Globe  Mutual  Benefit 
Association. — A  non-secret,  cooj)erative 
insurance  company,  organized  under  the 
laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois  in  1890  to  in- 
sure members  of  the  Knights  of  the  Globe 
and  Daughters  of  the  Globe.  (See  the  latter.) 

Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle. — Among 
the  various  beneficiary,  semi-military  secret 
societies  which  have  founded  their  rituals  and 
ceremonials  upon  the  history  and  pageantry 
of  the  Crusaders,  the  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Eagle,  or  Chivalric  Knights  of  America,  is 
conspicuous,  not  alone  for  its  rapidly  in- 
creasing membership,  which  numbers  about 
60,000,  but  as  well  for  its  adaptation  to 
American  soil  of  the  struggles  of  early 
Christian  knighthood.  The  objects  of  the 
Order  are  benevolence,  mutual  relief  against 
the  trials  and  difficulties  attending  sick- 
ness, distress,  and  death,  so  far  as  they 
may  be  mitigated  by  sympathy  and  pecu- 
niary assistance;  to  care  for  and  protect 
the  widows  and  orphans;  to  assist  those 
out  of  employment;  to  encourage  each  other 


KNIGHTS  OF  THE  GOLDEN  EAGLE 


149 


in  business;  "  to  ameliorate  the  condition 
of  humanity  in  every  possible  manner;  " 
to  stimulate  moral  and  mental  culture  by 
wholesome  precepts,  fraternal  counsel,  and 
social  intercourse,  to  elevate  the  member- 
ship to  a  higher  and  nobler  life,  and  the 
inculcation  and  dissemination  of  the  princi- 
ples of  benevolence  and  charity. 

The  organization  consists  of  a  Supreme 
Castle,  Grand  Castles,  and  subordinate  Cas- 
tles. The  Supreme  body  is  composed  of 
Past  Grand  Chiefs  (of  Grand  Castles),  and 
Grand  Castles  of  Past  Chiefs  of  subordinate 
Castles.  This  is  in  line  with  the  system 
pursued  by  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  with  its  Supreme  Lodge,  Grand, 
and  subordinate  Lodges;  the  Foresters,  with 
their  Supreme  Court,  Great  and  subordinate 
Courts,  and  many  other  similarly  governed 
societies.  The  subordinate  body  in  each 
holds  allegiance  to  the  State  organization, 
and  the  latter  to  the  Supreme  Body.  The 
ritualistic  work  of  the  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Eagle  includes  three  degrees:  the  first,  or 
Pilgrim's;  second,  or  Knight's;  and  third, 
or  Crusaders'  Degree.  ''  The  three  degrees 
are  symbolic  of  a  soldier  battling  for  his 
faith.  He  is  first  a  Pilgrim,  then  a  Knight, 
and  finally  a  Crusader."  The  Pilgrim's  de- 
gree teaches  fidelity  and  eternal  faithfulness 
to  God  and  our  fellow-man.  The  Knight's 
degree  confers  the  honors  of  Knighthood, 
arms  and  equips  the  Pilgrim,  and  teaches 
him  veneration  for  religion,  fidelity,  valor, 
courtesy,  charity,  and  hospitality.  The 
Crusader's  degree  sends  the  newly  made 
knight  forth  upon  a  crusade  against  the 
hosts  of  evil,  armed  and  equipped  to  con- 
quer opposing  foes.  The  ceremonies  and 
lectures  are  free  from  anything  of  a  frivo- 
lous or  objectionable  character. 

The  Order  has  for  its  motto,  "  Fidelity, 
Valor,  and  Honor,"  a  trinity  of  graces 
taught  in  its  ritual.  It  was  founded  by 
John  E.  Burbage  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  who, 
in  1872,  conceived  the  idea  of  an  organiza- 
tion, secret  in  character,  which  should  ''go 
hand  in  hand  Avith  religion,"  having  for  its 


theme  the  struggles  of  the  Christian  warrior 
after  ''  the  immortal  crown. "     He  succeeded 
in  enlisting  a  sufficient  inimber  of  friends 
to   insure  the  success  of  his  plan,  and  by 
means  of  symbol  and  allegory  representing 
•'the  passing  through  the  wilderness  of  sin 
and  woe  on  the  journey  to  the  Heavenly 
Castle,"  the  ritual  was  made  characteristic 
and   the   Order    established.     At   Shorey's 
Photograph  Gallery,  No.   129   East   Baiti- 
more  Street,  January  20,  1873,  the  Grand 
Castle  of  Maryland  was  organized,  and  steps 
were  taken  to  institute  several  subordinate 
Castles,  four  being  in  active  02)eration  eight 
months  later.     Templar  Knighthood  played 
a  part  in  the  preparation  of  the  ritual  of  the 
Knights  of  the   Golden  Eagle  as  in  other 
modern  Orders  of  Knighthood.     The  his- 
tory of  the  ancient  Templars,  the  Hospital- 
lers, the  Teutonic  Knights,  and  the  Knights 
of  St.  John  and  Malta,   together  with  the 
example  of  the  Masonic  Knights  Templars, 
has  had  an  unending  influence  on  the  minds 
of  secret  society  ritualists  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  not  only  are  the  Knights  of 
the  Golden  Eagle   an  evidence  of  it,  but 
there  is  reason  to  believe  their  ritual  is  in- 
debted to  membership  in  the  Order  of  those 
who  had  been  brought  to  light  and  had  been 
advanced  in  the  parent  of  all  modern  secret 
societies.      With    such    seed,    tbe   blossoms 
could  not  fail  to  be  numerous  and  beautiful. 
Philadelphia  Odd  Fellows  became  interested, 
and  took  the  new  Order  of  Knighthood  to 
the  City  of  Brotherly  Love  in  1875,  and  by 
April,  187G,  the  Grand  Castle  of  Pennsyl- 
vania Avas  organized.     The  Centennial  Ex- 
hibition and  the  financial  dei)ression  which 
followed  it  delayed  progress;  but  by  1880 
the  banner  of  the  Eagle  Knights  was  un- 
furled in  Massachusetts  by  the  aid  of  influ- 
ential members  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias; 
five  subordinate  Castles  with  a  total  mem- 
bership of  500  were  secured,  and  the  Grand 
Castle  of  that  State  was  instituted  in  the 
following  year.     The  Supreme   Castle  had 
been  formed  in  lialtimore  on  January  22, 
1878.      Since    1884,    wlien    a    number    of 


150 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE    GOLDEN   EAGLE 


prominent  citizens  of  Philadelphia  became 
interested,  the  pi'ogress  of  the  Order  has 
been  rapid,  and  by  December,  1896,  it  was 
in  successful  operation  in  thirty-four  States, 
with  830  Castles.  During  the  past  ten 
years  its  growth  has  been  conspicuous  in  the 
history  of  kindred  organizations,  more  than 
800  Castles  having  been  organized  during 
that  period. 

It  is  not  obligatory  for  the  members  to 
connect  themselves  with  the  military  branch, 
which  is  an  important  adjunct  and  attracts 
the  young  men.  The  Commanderies — as 
the  military  bodies  are  termed — are  separate 
from  the  Castles;  but  any  Sir  Knight  in 
good  standing  in  his  Castle  is  eligible  to 
membership  in  a  Commandery.  The  uni- 
form of  members  of  the  Commanderies  is 
elaborate  and  jolainly  patterned  after,  but 
still  dissimilar  from,  that  of  the  Masonic 
Knights  Templars.  The  Commanderies 
now  confer  the  degree  of  Chivalry,  adopted 
by  the  Supreme  Castle  at  its  annual  session 
held  in  Eeading,  Pa.,  October,  1896.  This 
is  required  to  be  taken  by  those  who  connect 
themselves  with  the  military  branch.  The 
motto  of  this  degree  is  '^  Chivalry,  Truth, 
and  Peace,"  and  the  ritual  deals  at  length 
with  chivalry  and  the  history  of  the  Crusades. 
Commanderies  are  under  the  control  of  a 
lieutenant-general,  elected  by  the  Supreme 
Castle  every  three  years,  except  in  States 
where  there  are  five  or  more  Commanderies, 
when  a  Grand  Commandery  may  be  insti- 
tuted. The  oflficers  of  a  G-rand  Command- 
ery are  Grand  Commander,  Grand  Vice- 
Commander,  Grand  JMarshal,  Grand  Herald, 
Grand  Preceptor,  Grand  Historian,  Grand 
Almoner,  Grand  Inne  •  Guard,  and  Grand 
Outer  Guard.  The  members  of  the  Grand 
Commandery  are  known  as  Grand  Cheva- 
liers, and  achieve  that  honor  by  virtue  of 
having  passed  through  the  posts  of  a  subor- 
dinate Commandery.  Subordinate  Com- 
manderies may  be  beneficial  or  non-bene- 
ficial, as  they  choose.  There  are  two  depart- 
ments— the  civil,  which  confers  the  degree 
and  attends  to  all  business  matters;  and  the 


military,  which  has  charge  of  drills  and  pa- 
rades. There  is  a  semi-military  feature  iu 
the  ritualistic  Avork  of  the  Castles  said  to  be 
very  attractive,  but  the  military  work  con- 
nected with  the  degree  of  Chivalry,  it  is 
claimed,  is  "  unsurpassed  "  by  any  similar 
ceremonial  in  like  societies. 

The  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle  say 
they  are  pioneers  in  protecting  those  who 
have  passed  the  limit  of  age  at  which  they 
'can  enter  similar  organizations.  There  are 
a  large  number  of  Veteran  Castles,  com- 
posed of  men  fifty  years  of  age  and  over, 
which,  like  the  Castles  and  Commanderies, 
have  power  to  legislate  in  regard  to  dues 
and  benefits. 

The  Order  also  claims  to  be  the  pioneer 
in  protecting  those  who  have  belonged  to 
Castles  which  have  become  defunct.  The 
Castle  of  Protection,  originated  by  Past  Su- 
preme Chief  J.  D.  Barnes  of  Pennsylvania, 
provides  that  such  members  may  pay  dues 
to,  and  receive  benefits  from,  the  Grand 
Castle  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Supreme 
Castle  has  recently  adopted  a  like  plan  for 
the  benefit  of  those  under  its  immediate 
jurisdiction.  This  branch  is  known  as  the 
National  Castle  of  Protection.  The  Knights 
of  the  Golden  Eagle  have  certainly  taken  a 
stride  in  advance  in  looking  out  for  the  wel- 
fare of  members  whose  Castles  are  defunct, 
iu  which  respect  some  older  and  larger  bene- 
ficiary secret  societies  are  remiss.  In  1885 
members  of  the  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Eagle  organized  a  similar  society  under  the 
title.  Legion  of  the  Eed  Cross.  The  requi- 
site qualifications  for  membershiji  iu  the 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle  are  that  the 
applicant  be  a  white  man,  eighteen  j^ears  of 
age,  of  good  moral  character,  a  believer  in 
the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being  and  of 
the  Christian  faith,  free  from  mental  or 
bodily  infirmity,  competent  to  support  him- 
self and  family,  a  law-abiding  resident  of 
the  country  in  which  he  lives,  and  have 
sufficient  education  to  sign  his  own  ap- 
plication for  membership,  which,  by  the 
way,  are   almost  exactly  the   qualifications 


KNIGHTS    OF   THE   MACCABEES 


151 


demanded  for  admission  into  the  Order  of  the 
Heptasophs,  or  Seven  Wise  ]\Ien.  More  than 
one-half  the  total  membership  of  the  Order 
is  in  Pennsylvania.  The  Grand  Castle  Ilall 
at  Philadelphia  was  purchased  from  the 
Knights  of  Labor  for  !j!45,000,  when  the  lat- 
ter moved  its  headquarters  to  AVashington 
a  few  years  ago,  and  is  a  monument  to  the 
extent  and  importance  of  the  Order  in  the 
Keystone  State.  The  Death  Benefit  Fund 
is  composed  of  members  in  good  standing 
of  subordinate  Castles,  between  the  ages  of 
eighteen  and  fifty,  and  members  of  subordi- 
nate Temples  (the  auxiliary,  or  Ladies'  Or- 
der), between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  fifty, 
who  must  pass  a  satisfactory  examination 
previous  to  admission.  The  amount  paid 
to  beneficiaries  of  members  in  good  standing 
is  §1,000  in  Class  A,  and  -^500  in  Class  B. 
Weekly  sick  benefits  and  funeral  benefits  are 
paid  by  means  of  assessments  at  the  option 
of  subordinate  Castles.  The  assessment 
in  Class  A  is  50  cents,  and  in  Class  B  25 
cents.  It  will  be  seen  that  one  object  of  the 
founders  was  to  furnish  a  moderate  death 
benefit  to  members  at  a  low  cost.  Li  189G 
a  $250.  death  benefit  class  was  provided,  as- 
sessments in  which  are  pro  rata  with  those 
in  Classes  A  and  B.  During  the  year  1895 
$180,000  was  paid  out  for  relief  by  the  Cas- 
tles of  the  Order,  the  investments  amount- 
ing to  S850,000. 

The  Eagle  Home  Association  of  Pennsyl- 
vania has  for  its  object  the  protection  of 
the  aged  Eagles,  widows,  and  orphans,  and 
is  supported  by  a  per  capita  from  such  Cas- 
tles as  are  enrolled  in  membership.  The 
social  feature  is  characteristic  of  the  Order, 
and  one  night  in  each  month  is  generally 
set  apart  for  entertainments. 

The  Temple  degree,  or  Ladies  of  the 
Golden  Eagle,  is  open  to  women  of  good 
moral  character,  not  less  than  sixteen  years 
of  age,  whether  relatives  of  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Eagle  or  not,  as  well  as  to  members 
of  the  Order  of  the  Knights  of  the  Eagle. 
This  auxiliary  to  the  Eagle  Knights  has  so- 
cial and  beneficiary  objects,  and  fills  much 


the  same  place  with  respect  to  Kniglits  of 
the  Golden  Eagle  as  the  Daughters  of  Re- 
bekah  do  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  the  Companions  of  the  Forest 
to  the  Foresters  of  America.  The  "  Lady 
Eagles "  meet  in  Temples,  and  regulate 
their  own  weekly  and  funeral  benefits  and 
dues.  Their  total  membership  is  about 
9,000.  Temples  which  are  separate  from, 
and  in  no  wise  adjuncts  of.  Castles  are 
under  the  immediate  control  of  the  Su- 
preme Castle  until  there  are  ten  Temples 
in  a  State,  when  a  Grand  Temple  may  be 
formed. 

Kiiigrhts  of  the  Loyal  Guard. — Found- 
ed by  Edwin  0.  Wood,  at  Flint,  Mich., 
January  31,  1895.  Men  and  women  are 
eligible  to  membership.  It  pays  death 
benefits  only.  It  organized  Lodges  in 
104  cities  within  two  and  one-half  years, 
and  numbers  more  than  5,000  mem- 
bers. 

Knights  of  the  Maccahees. — No  one 
of  the  popular  secret  beneficiary  fraternal 
societies  which  have  sprung  into  being  dur- 
ing the  latter  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
centuiy  has  been  more  successful  than  the 
Maccabees.  Its  original  inspiration  was  of 
Canadian  origin,  but  its  robust  youth  and 
early  manhood  are  tributes  to  the  nurtur- 
ing care  and  executive  capacity  of  Ameri- 
can citizens.  The  founders  of  the  modem 
Maccabees  are  to  be  commended  for  quany- 
ing  tiie  foundation  stones  of  their  ritual, 
legend,  and  ceremonial  in  strata  which  had 
not  even  been  uncovered  by  the  exploring 
hand  of  the  secret  society  ritualist.  The 
modern  Order  of  Maccabean  Knighthood  is 
built  upon  the  traditions  and  history  of  the 
ancient  Maccabean  dynasty,  the  achieve- 
ments of  which  are  recorded  in  the  first  and 
second  Books  of  the  Maccabees,  in  the 
apocryphal  Old  Testament.  The  followers 
of  Judas  Maccabeus  were  Jews  of  no  par- 
ticular tribe,  who  braved  death  in  the  de- 
fence of  their  belief  in  the  God  of  their 
fathers.  The  name  Maccal)eus  is  said  to 
have   been   derived   from   a  Hebrew   term 


152 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE    MACCABEES 


signifying  a  hammer.*  It  Avas  to  Judas 
Maccabeus  the  Jews  were  indebted  for  the 
preservation  of  their  political  power  and 
religious  liberty.  In  the  second  century 
B.C.,  the  Jews  transferred  their  allegiance 
from  Egypt  to  Syria,  and  tw'enty-five  years 
later  the  Syrian  King,  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
commanded  them  to  renounce  their  religion, 
defiled  their  sauctuarj-,  and  ordered  them 
to  pay  the  honors  due  alone  to  Divinity  to 
the  Olympian  Jupiter.  Tliis  the  Jews  un- 
der their  Priest  Mattathias  resisted  in  a 
"thirty  years' war.''  Before  the  outbreak 
Mattathias,  being  a  person  of  consequence, 
was  tempted  by  a  Syrian  captain  to  embrace 
the  new  faith,  but  with  his  own  hand  he 
slew  the  first  renegade  Jew  who  apjiroached 
the  altar  of  idolatry.  This  precipitated 
the  conflict.!  Mattathias,  his  five  sous,  and 
a  few  faithful  followers  destroyed  the  em- 
blems of  the  heathen  worship  in  Modin  and 
vicinity  and  fled  into  the  wilderness  of 
Judea.  The  Hellenes,  friends  of  the  Greeks, 
aided  the  Syrians  and  the  family  of  Mac- 
cabeus, of  which  Judas  Maccabeus  was  the 
head,  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Jews,  Judas 
Maccabeus  becoming  the  leader  of  the  re- 
volt after  the  death  of  his  father  Matta- 
thias a  few  years  after  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  in  166  B.C.  The  former  took  com- 
mand, and  at  Mizpah  repulsed  and  put  to 
flight  the  Syrians,  although  his  forces  were 
greatly  outnumbered.  At  Bethzur  he  again 
put  the  Syrians  to  flight,  reconquered  Jeru- 
salem, purified  the  Temple,  reestablished 
the  holy  service,  and  concluded  an  alliance 
with  the  Komans.  He  fell  in  battle  in 
IGL  B.C.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  brother 
Jonathan,  who  became  High  Priest  on  the 

*  It  is  also  claimed  the  name  ''  Maccabi  "  was 
formed  from  the  initials  of  the  Hebrew  words  mi 
Kamocha  baelim,  Jehovah,  signifying  "  Who  is  like 
thee  among  the  gods,  Jehovah?" 

f  On  being  summoned  by  the  Syrian  overseer  and 
bade  to  make  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  Mattathias  an- 
swered: "If  all  the  people  in  the  kingdom  obey  the 
order  of  the  monarch  to  depart  from  the  faith  of 
their  fathers,  I  and  my  sons  will  abide  by  the 
covenant  of  our  forefathers." 


death  of  Antiochus,  but  was  murdered  by 
those  who  feared  his  influence  on  the  heir 
to  the  throne.  Simeon,  the  second  brother 
of  Judas,  aided  by  Roman  allies,  became 
the  ruler  of  the  Jews,  and  finally  reestab- 
lished the  independence  of  the  Jewish  na- 
tion. The  wisdom  and  moderation  with 
which  he  used  the  power  intrusted  to  him 
were  so  well  appreciated  in  his  own  day 
that  the  year  141  B.C. — that  after  his  suc- 
cession— was  made  the  beginning  of  a  new 
era. 

Upon  the  enduring  traits  of  character 
displayed  by  the  ancient  Maccabean  family 
in  the  Jewish  thirty  years'  war  for  religious 
and  political  liberty,  particularly  those  of 
its  first  great  representative,  Judas  Mac- 
cabeus, the  modern  Knights  of  the  Macca- 
bees have  founded  their  fraternal  Order  of 
mutual  relief.  It  was  Judas  Maccabeus 
who  first  commanded  his  soldiers  in  divid- 
ing the  fruits  of  their  victories  to  reserve  a 
part  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  their 
brothers  who  had  fallen  in  battle — a  jn-omi- 
nent  feature  of  the  work  of  modern  Macca- 
beism. 

The  modern  Order  of  the  Maccabees  was 
founded  in  1878  by  members  of  the  Order 
of  Foresters,  and  others,  at  London,  On- 
tario, who  were  familiar  with  the  history 
of  the  ancient  Maccabees,  and  believed  it 
formed  an  excellent  framew^ork  on  which  to 
construct  a  modern  fraternal  and  benefi- 
ciary society.  They  drew  up  a  constitution, 
prepared  a  ritual  and  ceremonials,  and  the 
new  society  was  born.  Within  two  years  it 
had  spread  throughout  the  Canadian  Do- 
minion and  into  several  of  the  United  States, 
with  a  total  membership  of  about  10.000. 
Its  earh"  growth  is  declared  to  have  been  of 
a  mushroom  character.  No  medical  ex- 
amination was  required  of  applicants,  and 
assessments  at  deaths  were  only  ten  cents 
apiece  for  all  members.  The  business  man- 
agement was  not  of  the  kind  which  bene- 
ficiary organizations  of  this  variety  now 
require,  expenses  increased  relatively  more 
rapidly   than    the    income,    and   as   deaths 


KNIGHTS   OF   THE   MACCABEES 


153 


became  numerous  a  crisis  stared  the  society 
in  the  face.* 

Believing  it  to  possess  the  germs  of  ii  use- 
ful institution,  some  of  the'  more  conserva- 
tive business  men  of  Michigan  among  its 
relatively  large  membership  in  that  State 
undertook  to  reorganize  the  society  at  the 
grand  review  held  at  Buifalo,  N.  Y.,  in 
1880.  The  constitution  and  laws  were 
changed,  and  the  business  methods  revised 
and  }>laced  on  a  stronger  foundation.  This 
could  not  have  been  accomplished  without 
some  friction,  and  one  outcome  was  the  seces- 
sion of  a  minority  of  the  Order  in  Canada, 
under  the  leadership  of  one  McLaughlin 
of  London.  But  one  year  later  the  rival 
Orders  came  together  at  Port  Huron,  Mich., 
in  the  persons  of  their  chief  executive  offi- 
cials, and,  after  a  two  days'  conference,  were 
reunited,  and  elected  a  full  corps  of  officers. 
It  was  several  years  before  the  society  began 
its  career  of  prosperity,  owing  to  much 
"  bad  material"  having  been  admitted,  the 
consequent  high  death  rate,  to  activity  of 
would-be  leaders  and  of  leaders  who  were 
not  competent.  Major  N.  S.  Boynton,  who 
had  been  elected  Supreme  Lieutenant  Com- 
mander at  Buffalo,  in  1881,  was  made 
chairman  of  a  committee  appointed  at  the 
Port  Huron  joint  review,  in  1881,  to  draft 
a  new  constitution  and  laws.  The  results 
of  this  committee's  deliberations  were 
adopted  in  February,  1881.  They  provided 
for  the  organization  of  Great  Camps  in 
States,  Territories,  and  Provinces  where  the 
membershii?  was  1,000  or  more,  but  the 
management  of  the  death  benefit  fund  was 

*  This  was  about  tlic  period  of  tlio  so-called 
"  Griffin  defalcation  "  in  the  Independent  Order  of 
Foresters,  which  was  followed  in  1879  by  schisms 
to  escape  extra  assessments,  the  offshoot  organiza- 
tions taking  the  names  of  tlie  Independent  Order 
of  Foresters  of  Illinois,  and  the  Canadian  Order  of 
Foresters.  While  it  is  probable,  it  has  not  been  deter- 
mined whether  or  no  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees 
was  devised  by  members  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Foresters  for  reasons  similar  to  those  which  gave 
birth  to  the  Illinois  and  Canadian  Orders  of  For- 
esters. 


retained  in  the  Supreme  Tent.  A  Great 
Camj)  was  promptly  chartered  in  Michigan 
and  incorporated  June  11,  1881,  which  day 
has  since  been  recognized  as  the  anniversary 
of  the  reorganized  Order.  At  the  Supreme 
Tent,  in  July,  1881,  the  laws  were  amended, 
mainly  through  the  exertions  of  the  Michi- 
gan representatives,  to  permit  Great  (State) 
Camps  to  control  benefit  funds  of  their  own 
jurisdictions.  Michigan  members  were  evi- 
dently aware  that  the  Order,  even  as  re- 
organized, could  not  long  survive,  and  were 
apparently  planning  to  act  as  heirs  and 
assignees  of  what  might  remain  when  the 
end  came.  At  this  period,  September,  1881, 
Major  N.  S.  Boynton  was  induced  to  act  as 
secretary  and  general  business  manager  for 
the  Michigan  Great  Camp,  officially,  as 
Great  Record  Keeper.  He  opened  an  office 
in  his  residence  at  Port  Huron,  and  ad- 
vanced funds  with  which  to  jjurchase  sup- 
plies, charters,  seals,  j)Ostage  stamps,  etc. 
His  private  business  took  him  about  Michi- 
gan so  frequently  that  be  was  enabled  to 
work  effectively  for  the  Order,  which,  for  a 
year,  he  did  without  pay  ;  had  he  not 
done  so,  there  would  probably  have  been  no 
Maccabees  to-day.  He  subsequently  became 
Great  Commander  of  the  Great  Camp  of 
Michigan,  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of 
the  Fraternity  in  that  State,  which  he, 
more  than  any  other  one  man,  may  claim 
the  credit  for  maintaining  and  upbuilding. 
Outside  of  Michigan  the  Order  became  de- 
funct. It  started  anew  in  the  Peninsular 
State  in  1882,  with  only  700  members,  and 
has  spread  throughout  the  United  States 
and  Canada.  The  constitution  and  laws 
have  been  revised  again,  the  ritual  has 
been  changed,  and  a  funeral  service  incor- 
porated. These  were  largely  the  outcome 
of  suggestions  of  new  leaders,  some  of  them 
Freemasons  and  members  of  other  secret 
societies  whose  rituals  and  methods  have 
served  as  models  for  many  fraternal,  bene- 
ficiary societies.  Tlie  old  Supreme  Tent 
being  dead,  its  members  in  the  Michigan 
Order  revived  it,  Sei)tember,  1883,  and  began 


154 


KNIGHTS   OF  THE   STAR    OF   BETHLEHEM 


the  active  work  of  extending  the  mem- 
bershij)  throughout  the  country.  In  1892  a 
permanent  headquarters  was  established  at 
Port  Huron.  Leaders  among  the  Knights 
declare  that  the  Order,  which  consists  of  a 
body  of  men  banded  together  for  the  pro- 
tection of  their  families  and  homes,  is  not 
an  insurance  company,  and  bears  the  same 
relation  to  an  insurance  company  that  a 
father  bears  to  a  guardian.  It  is  only 
proper  to  add  that  this  distinction  is  drawn 
between  nearly  all  secret,  fraternal,  benefi- 
ciary societies  and  open  mutual  assessment 
insurance  companies,  as  well  as  between  the 
former  and  the  old  line,  level  jDremium- 
paying  life  insurance  companies.  The 
Order  of  the  Maccabees  is  quite  compre- 
hensive as  to  the  relief  it  extends.  It  not 
only  pays  benefits  at  the  deaths  of  members, 
both  men  and  women,  but  for  disability, 
during  extreme  old  age  and  sickness,  for 
accidents,  and  to  meet  funeral  expenses. 
These  payments  are  met  by  mutual  assess- 
ments, based  upon  the  ''actuaries'  table 
of  mortality."  Assessments  are  made 
monthly,  and  include  an  allowance  of  12 
per  cent,  for  the  actual  cost  of  management. 
All  white  persons  of  sound  bodily  health 
and  good  moral  character,  socially  accept- 
able, between  eighteen  and  seventy  years  of 
age,  are  eligible  to  membership  ;  but  only 
those  between  eighteen  and  fifty-two  years 
of  age  may  join  and  share  in  the  beneficiary 
features.  Sick  benefits  are  from  $4  to  $10 
per  week,  while  $50,  $200,  or  $300  annually 
are  paid  in  case  of  total  and  permanent  dis- 
ability, and  $50,  $100,  or  $300  annually  for 
old  age  benefits.  A  benefit  of  from  $3  to 
$30  is  paid  in  case  of  disabling  accidents; 
$175  to  $2,000  for  the  accidental  loss  of 
both  eyes,  hands,  or  feet,  or  hand  and  foot ; 
$100  to  $1,000  for  hand  or  foot;  and  $40  to 
$500  for  the  accidental  loss  of  an  eye.  The 
funeral  benefit  of  an  unmarried  member  is 
$50,  and  the  death  benefit  $500,  $1,000, 
$2,000,  or  $3,000;  and  (where  Great  Camjjs 
exist)  as  high  as  $5,000.  These  benefits 
(one  or  all)  may  be  secured  for  one  member- 


shij)  fee  when  applied  for  at  the  same  time, 
and  on  payment  of  dues  to  maintain  only 
one  local  organization.  Certain  classes  of 
railroad  employees,  expressmen,  firemen, 
and  miners  (except  coal  miners,  which  are 
prohibited  risks)  are  regarded  as  hazardous 
risks,  and  pay  twenty-five  cents  additional 
assessment  for  each  $1,000.  Persons  en- 
gaged in  blasting,  coal  mining,  submarine 
operations,  making  highly  inflammable  or 
explosive  materials,  aeronauts,  electric  line- 
men, etc.,  are  not  eligible  to  membership  on 
account  of  the  extra  hazardous  nature  of 
the  occupations;  in  addition  to  which,  prin- 
cipals or  agents  or  employees  in  the  manu- 
facture or  sale  of  spirituous  or  malt  liquors, 
and  those  addicted  to  the  intemperate  use 
of  intoxicating  liquors,  are  ineligible  to 
membership. 

The  total  membership  of  the  Knights, 
December  1,  1896,  of  which  more  than  one- 
third  is  in  Michigan,  was  about  182,000, 
distributed  throughout  forty  States  and 
Provinces,  and  the  death  rate  in  1895  was 
only  5.54  in  1,000,  which  was  exceptionally 
low.  Fully  $5,000,000  in  benefits  have 
been  paid  since  the  Order  was  founded. 
The  total  membership,  Knights  and  Ladies 
combined,  December  1,"  1896,  was  248,000, 
and  the  combined  benefits  distributed  had 
amounted  to  more  than  $7,000,000. 

Knights  of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem. — 
See  Order  of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem. 

Ladies  of  the  Golden  Eagle. — The 
women's  social  and  beneficiary  branch  of 
the  mutual  assessment  fraternal  society, 
the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle.  (See  the 
latter. ) 

Ladies  of  the  Maccabees. — As  nearly 
all  the  prominent  beneficiary  secret  societies 
have  auxiliary,  or  women's,  branches,  to  aid 
in  charitable  work  and  assist  socially  and 
otherwise  in  promoting  the  interests  of  the 
parent  organizations,  so  the  Knights  of  tlie 
Maccabees  are  supplemented  by  the  Ladies 
of  the  .Alaccabees.  To  Mrs.  A.  G.  Ward  of 
Muskegon.  Mich.,  belongs  the  credit  of 
having  suggested  and  planned  the  Ladies 


LADIES    OF  THE   MACCABEES 


165 


of  the  Maccabees.  She  drafted  the  original 
constitution  for  the  first  Hive,  composed  of 
wives  of  the  Knights,  at  Muskegon.  At  first 
this  society  was  local  and  purely  social  in 
character,  but  in  1886  application  was  made 
to  the  Great  Camp  for  Michigan,  at  Kala- 
mazoo, for  recognition  as  an  auxiliary  branch 
to  aid  local  Tents  socially,  and  for  laws  to 
provide  for  life  and  disability  benefits  to  be 
managed  by  the  auxiliary  society  itself.  The 
request  was  not  granted,  and  a  second  ap- 
plication in  1887  met  with  another  refusal. 
But  the  efforts  of  the  would-be  Lady  Mac- 
cabees were  not  relaxed,  and  as  many  of  the 
leading  Knights  had  become  convinced  of 
the  determination  and  ability  of  the  ladies 
to  accomplish  what  they  had  undertaken, 
the  Great  Camp,  which  met  at  Port  Huron 
in  1888,  recognized  the  organization  of  a 
Great  Hive  for  Michigan,  auxiliary  to  the 
Great  Camp.  A  Great  Hive  was  finally  or- 
ganized, its  laws  approved  by  the  Great 
Camp,  and  its  officers  elected  and  installed 
by  Major  N.  S.  Boynton,  Great  Record 
Keeper,  in  May,  1890.  Organizers  were 
appointed,  and  the  ladies'  Order  was  rapidly 
introduced  throughont  Michigan  in  connec- 
tion with  various  Tents  of  the  Maccabees. 
By  August,  1890,  the  total  membership  of 
the  Ladies  of  the  Maccabees  was  only  170, 
but  from  that  time  onward  its  growth,  suc- 
cess, and  ])opularity  among  ladies,  relatives 
of  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  and  others, 
have  been  continuous.  For  some  years  the 
growth  of  the  society,  owing  to  its  charter, 
was  confined  to  Michigan.  Hives  were  sub- 
sequently organized  by  (ireat  Camps  in 
other  States  ;  but  in  New  York  and  Ohio 
Great  Camps  retained  control  of  subordi- 
nate Hives  and  of  tlieir  funds.  This  for 
a  time  prevented  Hives  in  the  States  named 
from  being  represented  in  the  Supreme 
Hive  of  the  Order  of  the  Ladies  of  the 
Maccabees  of  the  World,  restricting  their 
enjoyment  of  social  and  "fraternal''  bene- 
fits of  the  Order  in  other  States  than  their 
own.  But  the  Supreme  Hive  of  the  Ladies 
of  tlie  Maccabees  of  the  World  was  organized 


October  1,  1892,  to  harmonize  the  workings 
of  various  Great  Hives,  and  to  render  their 
social,  ritualistic,  and  other  work  uniform, 
and,  as  its  name  suggests,  the  Supreme 
Hive  is  to-day  the  supreme  authority  of  the 
Ladies  of  tlie  Maccabees.  It  is  made  up 
of  representatives  of  Great  Hives,  and  is 
the  auxiliary  branch  of  the  Supreme  Tent 
of  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees  of  the 
World,  the  supreme  governing  body  of  the 
Knights. 

The  Ladies  of  the  Maccabees  is  claimed 
to  be  the  first  movement  of  the  kind  among 
women  offering  death  benefits,  making  its 
own  laws,  and  transacting  its  own  bu.siness. 
Its  successful  career  has  surprised  many, 
even  among  its  well-wishers,  and  has  shown 
that  women  may  safely  be  intrusted  with 
the  conduct  and  management  of  many  of 
the  broader  business  affairs  of  life.  The 
total  membership  of  the  Ladies  of  the  Mac- 
cabees, December  1,  1896,  of  which  fully 
one-half  is  in  Michigan,  had  increased  to 
66,000  since  the  formation  of  the  Great 
Hive  for  Michigan  in  1888,  and  may  be 
found  in  more  than  one-half  the  States  of 
the  Union  and  in  the  Canadian  Dominion. 
It  aids  its  sick  and  distressed  members, 
cares  for  the  living,  buries  its  dead,  and  pays 
death  and  disability  benefits.  Women  be- 
tween the  ages  of  sixteen  and  fifty-two, 
socially  acceptable,  are  admitted  to  life 
benefit  membersliip,  after  passing  a  medical 
examination.  They  receive  death  benefit 
certificates  for  $500,  $1,000,  and  §2,000,  and 
in  case  of  permanent  or  total  disability,  or 
on  reaching  the  age  of  seventy  years,  they 
receive  annually  one-tenth  of  the  sum  named 
in  their  certificates.  Thus  far  tiie  death 
rate  among  the  Ladies  of  the  Maccabees  has 
been  remarkably  low.  Tlie  social,  ritualis- 
tic, literary,  and  educational  exercises  are 
prominent  features.  In  view  of  its  unique 
character,  the  society  being  the  first  of  its 
kind  managed  exclusively  by  women,  it  is 
proper  to  add  that  to  Lady  Lillian  M. 
Hollister  of  Detroit  and  Lady  Bina  M.  West 
of   Port  Huron  is  larfjelv  due  the  success 


15(5 


LEAGUE  OF  FRIENDSHIP,  SUPREME  MECHANICAL  ORDER  OF  THE  SUN 


and  present  high  standing  of  the  auxiliary 
branch  of"  tlie  Maccabees. 

League  of  Frieiidsliii),  Supreme  Me- 
dia iiieal  Order  of  tlie  Snii. — A  benefi- 
ciary labor  organization,  now  extinct,  mem- 
bers of  which  formed  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen  in  1868.     (See  the  latter, ) 

Legion  of  the  Red  Cross. — One  of  the 
smaller  mutual  assessment  beneficiary  so- 
cieties, founded  in  1885  by  members  of  the 
Knights  of  tlie  Golden  Eagle,  which  insures 
the  lives  of  its  members  in  the  sum  of 
$1,000,  seeks  to  procure  emjaloyment  for 
them,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  to  assist  them 
in  business.  All  acceptable  white  men,  be- 
tween eighteen  and  fifty  years  of  age,  who 
can  pass  the  required  physical  examination, 
are  eligible  to  membership.  It  is  governed 
by  a  Supreme  Council,  made  up  of  its  offi- 
cers and  representatives  of  Grand  Councils, 
which  have  jurisdiction  over  subordinate 
Councils  in  States  where  established.  It 
furnishes  sick  as  well  as  death  benefits,  and, 
since  it  was  founded,  has  paid  nearly  $160,- 
000  to  beneficiaries.  The  ritual  is  based  on 
the  history  and  traditions  of  the  Crusades, 
but,  as  may  be  supposed,  has  no  direct  or 
other  relation  to  the  Masonic  or  other  or- 
ders of  the  Red  Cross.  The  total  member- 
ship, about  4,500,  is  centred  in  Maryland, 
Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and 
New  York,  and  its  headquarters  are  at  Bal- 
timore. The  emblem  is  a  red  Maltese  Cross, 
slightly  modified  from  the  conventional 
sliape,  with  the  letters  L.  0.  E.  C.  in  the 
arms,  and  a  circle  in  the  centre  containing 
a  representation  of  the  Cross  and  Crown. 
(See  also  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle.) 

Light  of  the  Ages. — An  Indiana  fra- 
ternal beneficiary  society,  with  its  head- 
quarters at  Indianapolis,  which  in  1897 
dropped  its  fraternal  features,  and  continued 
business  as  an  ordinary  insurance  company. 

Loyal  Additional  Benefit  Associa- 
tion.— A  fraternal  beneficiary  society, 
formed  in  1889  by  members  of  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  to  which  only  the  latter  are  eli- 
gible as  members.     (See  Royal  Arcanum.) 


Loyal  Circle. — A  new  fraternal  benefi- 
ciary society,  organized  at  Champaign,  111. 

Loyal  Knights  and  Ladies. — An  out- 
growth of  the  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor. 
The  latter  society  M'as  connected  with  the 
Knights  of  Honor,  and  Mizpah  Lodge,  Bos- 
ton, Avas  one  of  the  most  wide-awake  Lodges. 
The  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor  severed 
its  connection  with  the  Knights  of  Honor, 
and  the  membership  of  Mizjoah  Lodge,  dis- 
satisfied with  the  action  of  the  society,  dis- 
solved its  connection  with  the  Knights  and 
Ladies  of  Honor  and  set  u]}  housekeeping 
on  its  own  account  as  the  Loyal  Knights 
and  Ladies.  The  first  meeting  was  held 
November  11,  1881,  in  Boston.  The  for- 
mation of  the  other  Courts  devolved  upon 
Court  Mizjjah,  and  until  the  fifth  Court 
had  been  instituted  no  attempt  at  a  higher 
body  was  made.  At  that  time  delegates 
were  sent  from  the  five  Courts,  and  upon 
these  devolved  the  duty  of  establishing  the 
governing  body.  The  Imperial  Court  was 
formed  December  6,  1883,  though  it  was 
known  as  the  High  Court  until  February  23, 
1884.  No  esjsecial  attempt  was  made  to 
push  matters  until  after  the  incorporation  of 
the  society,  June  18,  1895,  when  some  im- 
portant changes  were  made  in  its  constitu- 
tion. At  the  present  time  the  Order  is 
growing  slowly  though  very  satisfactorily. 
The  death  rate  of  the  Order  has  been  very 
low. 

The  strongest  claim  the  Order  has  upon 
its  members  is  the  genuine  feeling  of  frater- 
nity, which  has  held  it  together  when  so 
many  stronger  societies  have  gone  to  the 
wall.  Very  much  is  done  by  all  the  Courts 
to  encourage  this  sentiment,  and  many  enter- 
tainments are  given.  The  ritualistic  work 
also  is  very  good.  It  is  a  secret  beneficiary 
society,  admitting  all  socially  acceptable 
white  persons  of  suitable  age  who  can  jiass 
the  required  physical  examination.  It  pays 
a  death  benefit  not  to  exceed  $1,000,  though 
the  actual  amount  paid  has  never  reached 
that  sum.  A  sick  benefit  is  provided  for  if 
desired,    though   few   of    the    Courts   have 


MODERN   WOODMEN   OF   AMERICA 


157 


adopted  the  system.  Xo  other  form  of 
benefit  is  attached,  neither  accident,  dis- 
ability, annuity,  or  endowment.  The  so- 
ciety has  at  the  present  time  about  GOO 
members,  about  100  of  whom  are  social  or 
non-beneficiary.  The  amount  of  the  benefit 
averages  II  per  assessment. 

Miriam  OogToe  :  Forestor.s. — l>enetl- 
ciary  and  social  branch  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Foresters,  to  which  only  mem- 
bers of  the  latter  and  women  relatives  and 
friends  are  eligible.  (See  Independent  Order 
of  Foresters  and  Independent  Order  of 
Foresters  of  Illinois.) 

Modern  Aiuerioaii  Fraternal  Order. 
— Organized  at  Effingham,  111.,  in  180G,  by 
William  B.  Wright  atid  others,  to  pay  death, 
disability,  and  old  age  benefits  by  means  of 
mutual  assessments.  Men  and  women  are 
eligible  to  membership.  About  1.000  have 
joined. 

Modern  Knights'  Fidelity  League. — 
A  mutual  assessment  beneficiary  society  for 
men  and  women,  organized  in  Kansas  in 
1S91  by  members  of  the  Royal  Arcanum, 
National  Union,  Woodmen  of  the  World, 
and  other  fraternal  beneficiary  associations, 
and  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State 
of  Kansas  in  1S93,  with  its  chief  offices  at 
Kansas  City,  Kan.  Membership  is  re- 
stricted to  persons  between  eighteen  and 
fifty-six  years  of  age  residing  in  the  more 
healthful  portions  of  the  country.  Its  gov- 
ernment is  on  the  widespread  plan  found 
among  like  societies,  consisting  of  a  Supreme 
or  governing  body  made  up  of  its  officers 
and  representatives  from  Grand  or  State 
Councils,  which  have  direct  charge  of  the 
subordinate  Councils.  Its  plan  of  insurance 
is  to  combine  a  number  of  risks  in  one  cer- 
tificate, such  as  a  death  and  endowment 
benefit  and  annuity  after  the  member  shall 
have  reached  the  age  of  seventy  years.  Sepa- 
rate tables  of  graded  rates  are  employed  to 
arrive  at  the  cost  of  such  benefits  according 
to  the  age  at  time  of  joining.  Weekly  bene- 
fits of  from  13.50  to  810  are  also  paid  in 
cases  of  sickness  or  accident.    A  reserve  fund 


to  provide  for  old  age,  total  and  partial  dis- 
ability benefits,  and  for  death  benefit  assess- 
ments in  excess  of  twelve  annually,  has  been 
formed  by  setting  aside  30  per  cent,  of  the 
assessments  on  benefit  certificates.  Widows 
and  orphans  of  members  receive  from  $100 
to  $1,000,  $3,000,  or  $3,000.  On  reaching 
life's  expectation  the  aged  members  may  re- 
ceive $500,  $1,000,  or  $1,500,  and  to  per- 
manently disabled  members  $100,  $200,  or 
$300  is  paid  annually  for  five  years,  all  sums 
paid  for  permanent  disability  and  at  life's 
expectation  being  deducted  from  the  death 
benefit.  This  League  of  Modern  Knights 
presents  three  highly  instructive  and  inter- 
esting degrees  for  the  consideration  of  those 
who  desire  to  become  members,  and  curi- 
ously founds  its  ritual  on  the  life  and  adven- 
tures of  Don  Quixote  and  his  companion 
Sancho  Panza.  It  numbers  about  5,000 
members.  In  that  the  ritual  is  based  upon 
incidents  in  the  life  of  these  well-known 
characters  in  Spanish  fiction,  it  forms  one 
of  the  two  successful  organizations  which 
have  based  their  unwritten  work  on  stories 
wliich  underlie  great  and  popular  works  of 
fiction. 

Modern  TVoodmen  of  America. — 
Among  the  many  successful  fraternal  orders 
guaranteeing  death  benefits  to  members,  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America  stands  out 
prominently,  numerically,  financially,  and 
fraternally.  Its  benefit  certificates  provide 
for  the  payment  of  $500,  $1,000,  $3,000,  or 
$3,000  to  the  families  of  deceased  mem- 
bers, and  for  care  and  attention  during 
sickness.  The  Order  is  an  Illinois  corpora- 
tion, working  under  a  charter  granted  ^May 
5,  1884.  It  was  founded  at  Lyons,  la.,  in 
1883,  by  Joseph  C.  Root,  a  prominent  Free- 
mason, an  Odd  Fellow,  a  Knight  of  Pythias, 
member  of  the  American  Legion  of  Honor, 
and  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men. The  first  Camp,  as  its  Lodges  are 
called,  was  instituted  January  5,  1883, 
which  is  regarded  as  the  birth  of  the  Order, 
although  its  beginning  really  dates  back 
to    1880.      Since   its   incorporation   it  has 


158 


MODERN   WOODMEN   OF   AMERICA 


increased  from  a  membership  of  600  in 
1884  to  210,000  in  4,180  local  Camps  on 
September  1,  189G. 

The  territory  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  is 
confined  by  its  charter  to  the  States  of  Illi- 
nois, Minnesota,  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Wiscon- 
sin, Michigan,  Kansas,  North  Dakota,  South 
Dakota,  Missouri,  Indiana,  and  Ohio,  from 
which  the  cities  of  Chicago,  Detroit,  Mil- 
waukee, St.  Louis,  and  Cincinnati  are  ex- 
cluded. This,  it  is  claimed,  makes  its  ter- 
ritory the  healthiest  in  the  country.  In 
addition,  persons  engaged  in  hazardous  oc- 
cupations are  not  eligible  to  membership.* 

Assessments  to  jiay  benefits  are  graduated 
according  to  the  age  of  the  j)erson  joining, 
the  grading  being  in  jiroportion  to  the  aver- 
age expectancy  of  life  by  the  standard  of 
American  tables.  The  rate  remains  the 
same  as  at  the  beginning,  the  special  induce- 
ment being  to  young  and  middle-aged  men. 
Ordinary  expenses  of  the  local  and  head 
Camps  are  j^aid  by  the  semi-annual  dues. 

*  As  qualifications  for  membership  in  the  Wood- 
men of  America  are  as  exceptional  among  like  rules 
in  similar  societies  as  is  the  rapid  annual  increase 
in  membership,  these  are  given  in  full  :  Persons  to 
become  members  must  be  white  males,  over  eighteen 
and  under  forty-five  years  of  age,  of  sound  health, 
exemplary  habits,  and  good  moral  character.  One 
who  is  over  forty-five  years  of  age,  if  but  for  a  sin- 
gle day,  is  ineligible.  Persons  engaged  in  the  fol- 
lowing kinds  of  business  or  employment  will  not  be 
admitted  as  members  of  this  Fraternity  :  Railway 
brakeman,  railway  engineer,  fireman,  and  switch- 
man, miner  employed  under  ground,  mine  inspector, 
pit  boss,  professional  rider  and  driver  in  races,  em- 
ployee in  gunpowder  factory,  wholesaler  or  manu- 
facturer of  liquors,  saloon  keeper,  saloon  bartender, 
aeronaut,  sailor  on  the  lakes  and  seas,  plough  polisher, 
brass  finisher,  professional  base-ball  player,  profes- 
sional foot-ball  player,  professional  fireman,  sub- 
marine operator,  or  soldier  in  regular  army  in  time 
of  war.  One  who,  after  joining  the  Order,  engages 
in  any  prohibited  occupation,  thereby  himself  A'oids 
his  contract  with  the  Order  and  renders  his  certifi- 
cate null  and  void,  but  may  obviate  this  difficulty 
and  retain  his  membership  by  filing  with  the  Head 
Clerk  a  waiver  of  all  right  to  benefits  in  case  death 
results  by  reason  of  such  prohibited  occupation — 
except  where  engaged  in  the  sale  of  intoxicant 
liquors. 


The  record  made  by  the  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America  shows  that  the  cost  of  pro- 
tection has  not  increased  within  seven  years; 
that  it  is  furnishing  insurance  at  a  cost  of 
14.96  for  $1,000  per  annum;  that  the  cost 
of  management  is  78  cents  per  member; 
that  the  average  age  of  membership  is  35.96 
years,  and  that  the  average  death  rate  per 
1,000  is  5.05.  No  other  secret  beneficiary 
society  ever  showed  such  an  increase  in 
membership  within  a  year  as  that  of  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  which  w^as, 
in  round  numbers,  45,000.  There  were  692 
death  claims  paid  that  year,  amounting  to 
$1,408,500  and  the  total  amount  paid  to 
beneficiaries  since  organization  is  16,522,385. 
The  total  increase  in  membership  during 
eight  months  of  1896  broke  the  Society's 
own  record,  49,350.  On  September  1, 1896, 
it  had  1515,000,000  of  insurance  in  force. 
Under  the  Order's  charter  the  head  office  is 
located  at  Fulton,  111.,  Avhere  C.  W.  Hawes 
has  charge  of  the  record  dejiartment.  The 
general  supervision  of  the  Order  comes  un- 
der the  direction  of  Head  Consul  W.  A. 
Northcott  of  Greenville,  111.  Colonel  A.  H. 
Hollister  of  Madison,  Wis.,  is  intrusted 
with  the  funds  of  the  Order,  and  the  finan- 
cial supervision  is  under  the  control  of  the 
following  gentlemen,  who  form  the  Board  of 
Directors:  A.  R.  Talbot,  Chairman,  Lincoln, 
Neb. ;  J.  W.  W^hite,  Eock  Falls,  111. ;  J.  N. 
Reece,  Springfield,  111. :  Marvin  Quacken- 
bush,  Dundee,  111.;  and  B.  D.  Smith,  Man- 
kato,  Minn.  The  membership  of  the  Order 
includes  many  prominent  men,  among  them 
former  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  James 
H.  Eckles,  William  J.  Bryan,  ex-Governor 
Hoard  of  Wisconsin,  and  Congressman  La 
Follette. 

While  making  a  point  of  being  particular 
to  restrict  its  operations  to  the  healthiest 
States  in  the  Union,  and  to  receive  only 
young  and  healthy  men  so  as  to  keep  the 
cost  of  insurance  as  low  as  the  lowest,  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America  makes  a 
strong  feature  of  the  social  and  fraternal 
side  of  secret  societv  life.     This  is  indicated 


MYSTIC   WORKERS   OF   THE   WORLD 


159 


by  the  following  extract  from  an  address 
before  the  orgauizi^.tion  in  1894  by  its  then 
Head  Banker  (Treasurer)  D.  C.  Tink : 

The  "  Woodmen  "  in  one  form  or  another  existed 
centuries  before  the  Golden  Fleece  or  the  Roman 
Eagle  was  dreamed  of ;  that  the  Orders  of  the  Star 
and  Garter,  the  Red  Cross,  and  the  Legion  of 
Honor  are  things  of  yesterday  as  compared  with 
them.  Far  back  in  the  dim  and  misty  ages,  before 
the  creatures  were  born,  before  the  first  stones 
were  laid  in  the  eternal  city,  in  regions  unlike 
those  we  see  round  about  us,  where  snow-crowned 
peaks  stand  guard  like  sentinels,  where  babbling 
brooks  and  murnuiring  rills  discoursed  soft  music 
to  the  nodding  jiines,  the  first  Camp  of  Woodmen 
was  organized.  With  the  axe  they  cleared  the 
forest,  with  the  wedge  they  opened  up  the  seei-et 
resources  of  nature,  and  with  the  beetle  they  bat- 
tered down  the  opposition  of  unworthy  tribes  that 
sought  to  bar  their  progress.  So,  my  friends,  we, 
as  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  have  the  same 
axe,  beetle,  and  wedge,  and  we  are  destroying  the 
abiding  places  of  poverty,  as  they  did  the  wild 
beasts,  so  that  the  blooming  roses  of  happiness,  the 
waving  grain  of  plenty,  the  lowing  herds  of  sym- 
pathy, the  rumbling  machinery  of  industry,  and 
the  stately  cities  of  the  home  of  the  beneficiaries 
are  thus  maintained  and  protected. 

The  reference  to  the  emblems  of  the 
Society  makes  evident  the  effort  of  the 
organizers  to  be  as  original  as  possible  in 
formulating  ritual  and  ceremonies.  Yet 
so  much  had  been  done  in  the  way  of  creat- 
ing secret  societies  prior  to  1880-83  that 
some  Avell-traveled  ground  had  to  be  cov- 
ered. Thus,  notwithstanding  the  rela- 
tively novel  emblems,  the  beetle  and 
wedge,  we  find  the  chief  official  to  be  a 
Head  Consitl,  which,  with  the  employment 
of  certain  forms  derived  from  ancient  Kome, 
suggests  a  partial,  though  perhaps  uncon- 
scious duplication  of  some  of  the  rites  of  the 
English  secret  beneficiary  society  known  as 
the  Ancient  Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece. 
The  abolition  of  State  jurisdiction  is  a  step 
in  advance  among  American  secret  bene- 
ficiary societies,  particularly  when  the  re- 
striction of  territory  is  considered  in  which 
the  Woodmen  operate. 

Royal  Neighbors  of  America  is  the  title  of 
theauxiliarybrauchof  the  Modern  Woodmen, 


to  which  members  of  the  latter  and  women 
relatives  are  eligible.  It  has  been  estab- 
lished only  a  few  years,  but  gives  promise 
of  ably  supplementing  the  Camps  of  AVood- 
men  as  have  so  many  similar  auxiliary  or- 
ganizations attached  to  other  beneficiary 
Orders.  This  branch  of  the  Order  pays 
death  benefits  also.  The  membership  is 
of  two  varieties,  beneficiary  and  fraternal, 
there  being  about  3,000  of  the  former  and 
13,000  of  the  latter. 

Mystic  Workers  of  the  WoiUl. — 
Founded  by  G.  AV.  Clendenen  of  Fulton, 
111.,  and  incorporated  under  the  laws  of 
Illinois  in  1892,  to  pay  death  and  disability 
benefits  by  means  of  mutual  assessments. 
Both  men  and  women  between  sixteen  and 
fifty-five  years  of  age  may  join  and  be  in- 
sured for  8500,  81,000,  81,500,  or  82,000. 
Those  unable  to  pass  the  required  physical 
examination  may,  if  elected,  become  social 
members.  A  member  who  becomes  perma- 
nently and  totally  disabled  by  sickness,  acci- 
dent, or  old  age  is  entitled  to  one-twentieth 
of  his  certificate,  or  policy,  semi-annually 
until  it  is  cancelled.  This  disability  clause 
is  not  effective  "until  the  Order  can  pay  a 
maximum  policy  in  full."  No  assessments 
are  levied  after  members  arrive  at  the  age 
of  seventy  years,  and  one-twentieth  of  the 
amount  of  their  policies  will  be  paid  them 
every  six  months  until  cancelled,  or  if  death 
takes  i^lace  before  such  time,  the  remaining 
portion  will  be  paid  the  beneficiary.  Fol- 
lowers of  the  customary  list  of  hazardous 
occupations  are  not  eligible  to  membership. 
The  founder  of  the  ^lystic  Workers  was  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity,  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America,  Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  and 
Woodmen  of  the  World,  from  which  it  may 
be  inferred  that  the  Mystic  Workers  is  the 
legitimate  offspring  of  some  of  the  most 
representative  of  the  older  and  modern  fra- 
ternities. Its  emblem  includes  two  columns 
or  pillars  surmounted  by  two  globes,  and 
between  them  an  open  Bible,  the  scales  of 
justice,  a  plane   and  square.      The   ritual 


160 


NATIONAL  FRATERNAL   CONGRESS 


emphasizes  Charity,  as  described  in  I.  Cor- 
inthians xiii.  There  are  about  3,000  Mys- 
tic Workers  enrolled. 

National  Fraternal  Congress. — (Con- 
tributed l)y  N.  S.  Boynton,  Past  President.) 
At  the  Fourteenth  Annual  Session  of  the 
Supreme  Lodge  of  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  held  at  Minneapolis  in 
June,  1886,  a  resolution  was  adopted  which 
led  to  the  organization  of  the  National 
Fraternal  Congress.  The  following  is  a 
copy  : 

Resolved,  That  the  incoming  Supreme  Master 
Workman  be  authorized  to  appoint,  upon  the  basis 
hereinafter  stated,  a  committee,  who  shall  also  act 
as  delegates  on  the  part  of  the  Supreme  Lodge,  to 
bring  about  a  meeting  and  permanent  organization 
of  representatives  of  fraternal  beneficiary  societies  ; 
that  such  committee  invite  other  beneficiaiy  socie- 
ties to  unite  in  such  an  association  ;  that  repre- 
sentation in  such  association  for  the  first  meeting 
to  be  one  delegate  for  the  first  40,000  beneficiary- 
members,  or  part  thereof,  or  any  organization  tak- 
ing part,  and  one  delegate  for  each  additional 
40.000  members  or  fractional  part  thereof  in  excess 
of  20,000  ;  and  that  such  committee  have  power  to 
arrange  further  details  to  secure  the  perfect  organ- 
ization and  perpetuation  of  such  an  association  of 
representatives. 

Supreme  Master  Workman  Badgerow  ap- 
pointed as  such  committee :  A.  L.  Levi, 
Minneapolis,  Minn.  ;  Hon.  0.  F.  Berry, 
Carthage,  111.,  and  Warren  Totten,  barris- 
ter, Woodstock,  Ont.,  with  Leroy  Andrus 
of  Buffalo  as  chairman.  A  call  was  ac- 
cordingly issued  for  a  preliminary  meet- 
ing of  representatives  of  various  fraternal 
beneficiary  societies,  to  be  held  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  November  16,  1886.  After 
reciting  the  foregoing  resolution  the  call 
set  forth  the  objects  of  the  convention  sub- 
stantially as  follows  : 

The  widely  extended  influence  and  vast  pecun- 
iary interests  connected  with  and  represented  by 
the  great  beneficiary  societies  of  the  present  time 
render  them  a  most  important  and  interesting 
feature  of  social  development  in  this  country. 
There  are  a  large  number  (not  less  than  fifty)  of 
those  societies,  each  having  a  considerable  member- 
ship, carrying  on  a  purely  fraternal,  beneficiary 
business  in  the  United  States,  and  among  these  are 


not  included  any  merely  speculative  assessment  or 
non-fraternal  cooperative  concerns.  Their  meth- 
ods are,  in  a  very  great  degi'ee,  the  same,  and  their 
interests  are  based  on  principles  which  are  iden- 
tical. It  is  confidently  believed  that  the  formation 
of  a  national  body  will  prove  of  great  advantage  to 
every  organization  represented.  The  cooperative 
plan  of  insurance  as  ,carried  on  by  our  societies 
has  not  wholly  laid  aside  the  character  of  an  ex- 
periment, and  the  fundamental  principles  upon 
which  their  future  depends  have  never  been  fully 
proven  or  even  investigated.  It  would  be  as  unrea- 
sonable to  expect  a  successful  importing  merchant 
to  carry  on  business  in  ignorance  of  foreign  and 
domestic  markets,  the  rate  of  exchange,  etc.,  as  to 
expect  our  great  fraternities  to  achieve  the  highest, 
and  especially  a  continued,  success,  knowing  noth- 
ing of  the  rules  which  govern  admissions,  lapses, 
death  rates,  and  other  questions  relating  to  such 
organizations.  These  ideas  are,  of  course,  not 
new  to  you  who  have  had  much  experience  in  the 
work  of  fraternities,  and  it  is  of  course  evident  to 
you  that  the  investigation  of  these  principles  can 
best  be  conducted  through  cooperation,  and  that 
their  efficiency  and  value  are  increased  in  propor- 
tion as  the  study  is  made  common  to  all.  There 
are  many  other  results  which  an  association  of 
these  societies  may  accomplish  and  which  may  be 
productive  of  good,  not  the  least  of  which  is  that 
a  "fraternity  of  fraternities"  will  be  formed  and 
the  fraternal  character  of  our  organization  be 
more  firmly  fixed.  The  following  subjects  are  sug- 
gested as  among  those  which  would  be  of  the  ut- 
most interest,  although  the  field  of  discussion  may 
profitably  be  extended.  First,  the  laws  relating 
to  cooperative  associations  and  the  necessity  of 
further  legislation  in  aid  of  fraternal  societies  and 
the  securing  of  uniform  laws  ;  second,  the  discus- 
sion of  means  by  which  inore  perfect  medical  ex- 
aminations can  be  secured,  etc. ;  and,  third,  the 
general  principles  necessary  to  the  successful  cari-y- 
ing  on  of  fraternal  cooperative  societies.  Repre- 
sentatives of  non-fraternal  assessment  associations 
are  not  eligible  to  membership. 

The  meeting  was  held  pursuant  to  call, 
and  Leroy  Andrus  of  Buffalo  was  elected 
temporary  chairman,  and  E.  C.  Hill  of 
Buffalo  secretary.  The  societies  repre- 
sented were  as  follows  : 

Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  Leroy 
Andrus,  Warren  Totten,  A.  L.  Levi,  and 
0.  F.  Berry,  Carthage,  HI. 

Knights  of  Honor,  W.  H.  Barnes,  San 
Francisco,  Cal. 


NATIONAL   FRATERNAL   CONGRESS 


161 


United  Order  of  Honor,  A.  W.  Wishard, 
Indiunapolis,  Ind. 

Order  United  American  Mechanics,  C. 
H.  Stein,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Order  United  Friends,  0.  M.  Shedd, 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. 

Empire  Order  Mutual  Aid,  J.  H.  Meech, 
Bumilo,  N.  Y. 

Select  Knights,  Ancient  Order  United 
Workmen,  E.  C.  Hill,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Endowment  Rank,  Knights  of  Pythias, 
Halvor  Nelson,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Equitable  Aid  Union,  E.  N.  Seaver,  Co- 
lumbus, Pa. 

Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  N.  S.  Boyn- 
ton.  Port  Huron,  Mich. 

Eoyal  Arcanum,  A.  0.  Trippe,  Baltimore, 
Md.;  J.  Haskell  Butler,  Boston,  Mass. 

Knights  of  Columbia,  C.  P.  Kriezer, 
New  York  City. 

Knights  of  the  Golden  Rule,  J.  D.  Ir- 
ving, Toledo,  0. 

United  Order  of  the  Golden  Cross,  A.  M. 
McBath,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Eoyal  Templars  of  Temperance,  C.  K. 
Porter,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Home  Circle,  J.  H.  Butler,  Boston,  Mass. 

The  orders  and  membership  rei^resented 
were  as  follows  :  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  175,000 ;  Knights  of  Honor, 
130,000  ;  Eoyal  Arcanum,  76,000  ;  Order 
of  United  American  Mechanics,  40,000 ; 
Eoyal  Templars  of  Temperance,  2:2,000 ; 
Equitable  Aid  Union,  17,000  ;  Endowment 
Eank,  Knights  of  Pythias,  16,000;  Order 
of  United  Friends,  12,000  ;  Select  Knights, 
Ancient  Order  United  Workmen,  11,000  ; 
Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  11,000 ;  United 
Order  of  the  Golden  Cross,  9,000  ;  Empire 
Order  of  Mutual  Aid,  8,000  ;  United  Order 
of  Honor,  7,000  ;  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Eule,  9,000  ;  Home  Circle,  5,000  ;  Knights 
of  Columbia,  2,000  ;  a  grand  total  of 
535,000,  with  outstanding  life  benefits 
amounting  to  $1,200,000,000.  After  a  dis- 
cussion the  following  permanent  officers  were 
chosen  :  President,  Leroy  Andrus  ;  First 
Vice-President,  W.  H.  Barnes ;  Second 
11 


Vice-President,  John  Haskell  Butler  ^  Ee- 
cording  Secretary,  E.  C.  Hill  ;  Corres})ond- 
ing  Secretary,  0.  M.  vShedd  ;  and  Treasurer, 
Halvor  Nelson.  The  following  declaration 
was  adopted  :  "  This  association  shall  be 
known  as  the  National  Fraternal  Congress. 
Its  objects  are  hereby  declared  to  be  the 
uniting  permanently  of  all  legitimate  fra- 
ternal benefit  societies  for  i)ur[)oses  of  mu- 
tual information,  benefit,  and  protection. 
Its  membership  shall  be  composed  of  its 
officers,  standing  committees,  and  of  repre- 
sentatives as  follows  :  Each  society  of  40,000 
members  shall  be  entitled  to  one  representa- 
tive, and  for  each  additional  40,000  mem- 
bers, or  fraction  of  40,000  over  20,000,  an 
additional  representative.  At  any  meeting 
when  a  test  ballot  or  vote  shall  be  required, 
and  any  society  not  fully  represented,  the 
representative  or  representatives  present 
shall  be  authorized  to  cast  the  full  vote  to 
which  his  or  their  order  may  be  entitled. 
No  fraternal  society,  order,  or  association 
shall  be  entitled  to  representation  in  this 
Congress,  unless  said  society,  order,  or  as- 
sociation works  under  a  ritual,  holds  regular 
lodge  or  similar  meetings,  and  pays  endow- 
ment moneys  to  the  beneficiaries  of  its  de- 
ceased members.  This  Congress  shall  meet 
annually  on  the  third  Tuesday  of  November, 
at  such  place  as  may  be  selected." 

After  a  two  days'  session,  during  which  a 
number  of  papers  were  read  and  discussed, 
the  Congress  adjourned  to  meet  in  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.,  on  the  third  Tuesday  in  No- 
vember, 1887. 

The  next  annual  meeting  was  held  in 
Philadelphia,  November  15,  1887.  The 
attendance  was  smaller  than  at  Washing- 
ton the  year  before,  and  the  feeling  at  first 
was  strongly  in  favor  of  abandoning  the  or- 
ganization ;  but  it  was  finally  decided  to 
continue  the  Congress.  Papers  were  read, 
topics  of  interest  to  the  orders  were  dis- 
cussed, and  several  societies  not  represented 
the  year  before  were  admitted.  The  fol- 
lowing officers  were  elected  :  President, 
John  Haskell  Butler,  Boston,  Mass.;  First 


163 


NATIONAL  FRATERNAL  CONGRESS 


Vice* President,  Warren  Totten,  Woodstock, 
Ont.;  Second  Vice-President,  R.  N.  Seaver, 
M.D.,  of  Pennsylvania  ;  Recording  Secre- 
tary, Samuel  Nelson  of  New  York  ;  Cor- 
responding Secretary,  0.  M.  Shedd  of  New 
York  ;  and  Treasurer,  George  Hawkes  of 
Pennsylvania. 

At  the  second  annual  session,  held  in 
Murray  Hill  Hotel,  New  York  City,  No- 
vember 20  and  21,  1888,  with  increased  at- 
tendance and  greater  interest,  seven  Orders 
Avere  admitted  as  new  members.  Paj^ers  on 
various  subjects  were  read  and  discussed, 
and  the  constitution  and  laws  were  amended 
so  as  to  do  away  with  the  office  of  Second 
Vice-President,  and  to  merge  the  ofiBces  of 
Corresi^ouding  and  Recording  Secretaries. 
Officers  elected  at  this  session  were  :  Presi- 
dent, John  Haskell  of  Boston  ;  Vice-Presi- 
dent, Warren  Totten  ;  Corresponding  and 
Recording  Secretary,  0.  M.  Shedd  ;  and 
George  Hawkes,  Treasurer. 

The  third  annual  session  was  held  in  Bos- 
ton, November  12  and  13,  1889.  Twenty- 
six  societies  were  represented,  and  four 
others  were  admitted.  The  following  offi- 
cers were  elected  :  President,  D.  H.  Shields  ; 
Vice-President,  A.  R.  Savage,  Lewiston, 
Me.;  Secretary,  0.  M.  Shedd  ;  Treasurer, 
George  Hawkes. 

The  fourth  annual  session  was  held  in 
Pittsburg,  Pa.,  November  11  and  12,  1890, 
with  a  still  larger  attendance,  societies  rep- 
resented having  a  total  membership  of  over 
one  million.  The  Committee  on  Legisla- 
tion was  directed  to  draft  a  uniform  law, 
with  the  object  of  having  separate  and  dis- 
tinct laws  for  the  regulation  of  frateral 
beneficiary  societies  passed  by  the  State 
legislatures.  The  following  officers  were 
chosen  ;  President,  A.  R.  Savage  ;  Vice- 
President,  Adam  Warnock  of  Boston, 
Mass.;  and  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  0. 
M.   Shedd. 

The  fifth  annual  session  was  held  in 
Washington,  D.  C,  November  10,  11,  and 
12,  1891,  when  thirty-two  societies  were 
represented,   with   a  total   membership   of 


over  one  million  two  hundred  thousand. 
During  the  session  the  Congress,  as  a  body, 
visited  the  White  House  and  met  President 
Harrison.  Among  the  more  important 
papers  read  was  one  by  J.  E.  Shapherd, 
"  Can  a  fraternal  society  safely  transact  an 
endowment  business  and  pay  a  stated  sum 
at  the  end  of  a  stated  number  of  years,  or 
sooner  in  the  event  of  death  ?"  and  one  by 
N.  S.  Boynton  on  "  Should  assessment 
notices  be  dispensed  with  ?"  Others  were: 
^'Should  medical  examiners  be  elected  by  the 
lodge,  appointed  by  the  chief  medical  ex- 
aminer, or  chosen  by  the  supreme  body?'* 
Dr.  J.  Foster  Bush  ;  and  the  ''  Uses  of  a 
ritual  and  secret  ceremonies  in  benefit  or- 
ders," by  C.  W.  Hazzard.  Frank  N.  Gage 
read  a  paper  on  the  ''  Advisability  of 
abolishing  the  per  capita  tax  and  levying 
all  revenues  for  the  general  fund  ujjon  the 
same  basis  as  assessments  are  levied  to  pay 
death  benefits  ; "  and  B.  F.  Nelson  one  on 
the  tojjic,  "'Is  it  advisable  for  fraternal 
benefit  societies  to  prohibit  the  admission 
of  men  engaged  personally  in  the  sale  of  in- 
toxicating liquors  ?"  A  special  committee 
was  appointed  to  confer  with  the  Postmaster- 
General,  with  reference  to  the  circulation 
of  fraternal  society  journals  through  the 
United  States  mails,  by  paying  the  rates 
fixed  for  second-class  matter.  Officers 
elected  were  as  follows  :  President,  Adam 
Warnock  ;  Vice-President,  M.  G.  Jeffris, 
Janesville,  Wis.;  Secretary  and  Treasurer, 
0.  M.  Shedd. 

The  sixth  annual  session  was  held  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  November  15,  16,  17, 
1892.  Delegates  were  present  from  thirty- 
three  societies  with  a  total  membershij)  of 
1,250,000.  Among  papers  read  were : 
"The  typical  frater,^'  by  Louis  Maloney  : 
"Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ?"  by  W.  S. 
Bailey;  "Increasing  membership,"  by  John 
J.  Acker  ;  "  Press  and  societies,"  by  J.  D. 
Smith  ;  "  The  state  and  its  relations  to  fra- 
ternal beneficiary  societies,"  by  Howard  H. 
Morse  ;  "  Securing  legislation,"  by  D.  E. 
Stevens  ;  and  "  Fraternal  duties,"  by  A.  L. 


NATIONAL   FRATERNAL   CONGRESS 


mi 


Barbour.  A.  R.  Savage,  from  the  Com- 
mittee on  Laws,  presented  a  report  on  the 
revision  of  uniform  laws  in  the  form  of  a  bill 
entitled,  ''An  Act  regulating  fraternal  ben- 
eficiary societies,  orders,  or  associations,'* 
which  was  adopted,  and  action  taken  look- 
ing toward  the  passage  of  the  bill  through 
the  legislatures  of  the  different  States  and 
in  the  Provinces  of  Canada.  The  following 
officers  were  elected:  President,  M.G.  Jeffris; 
Vice-President,  N.  S.  Boynton  ;  Secretary 
and  Treasurer,  0.  M.  Shedd. 

The  seventh  annual  session  was  held  at 
Cincinnati,  0.,  November  21,  23,  and  23, 

1893,  when  thirty-six  organizations,  having 
a  total  membership  of  nearly  one  million 
three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  were  rep- 
resented. A  very  large  number  of  valuable 
papers  was  read  and  discussed,  as  in  previ- 
ous sessions.  A  committee  to  be  known  as 
the  Committee  on  Fraternal  Press  was  ap- 
pointed to  secure,  if  possible,  the  passage  of 
an  act  by  Congress  which  would  permit 
fraternal  publications  to  be  mailed  as  sec- 
ond-class matter.  A  paper  on  "Women  in 
fraternal  societies"  was  presented  by  Mrs. 
Emma  M.  Gillette  of  Washington,  D.  C. 
The  following  officers  were  elected  :  Presi- 
dent, N.  S.  Boynton  ;  Vice-President,  S.  A. 
Wills,  Pittsburg,  Pa; ;  Secretary  and  Treas- 
urer, 0.  M.  Shedd. 

The  eighth  annual  session  was  held  at 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  November  20,  21,  and  22, 

1894.  Forty  orders,  having  a  total  member- 
ship of  1,300,000,  were  represented.  The 
Committee  on  Fraternal  Press  reported  they 
had  succeeded  in  securing  legislation  admit- 
ting to  the  mails  all  fraternal  journals  as 
second-class  matter.  The  following  officers 
were  chosen  :  President,  S.  A.  Wills  ;  Vice- 
President,  W.  R.  Spooner,  New  York  ;  Sec- 
rotary,  M.  W.  Sackett,  Meadville,  Pa. 

The  ninth  session  was  held  at  Toronto, 
Can.,  November  19,  20,  and  21,  1895  ; 
forty  orders,  having  a  total  membership 
of  1,400,000,  were  represented.  The  Com- 
mittee on  Statistics  submitted  a  report 
showing  that  the  total   benefits  paid  since 


their  organization  by  forty  orders  repre- 
sented, amounted  to  %228,447,120,  and  that 
during  1894  more  than  $28,000,000  had 
been  disbursed.  The  ratio  of  expense  to 
benefits  was  $G5.67  for  each  $1,000,  and  the 
ratio  of  expense  to  membership  was  $1.27 
per  capita,  and  the  average  rate  of  mortal- 
ity was  9.92  per  1,000.  Certificates  in  force 
amounted  to  $2,855,018,610.  The  medical 
section,  formed  of  medical  examiners-in- 
chief  of  orders  represented,  met,  and  a  num- 
ber of  papers  were  submitted.  The  follow- 
ing officers  were  elected  :  President,  W.  R. 
Spooner ;  Vice-President,  John  G.  John- 
son, Peabody,  Kan.,  and  Secretary,  M.  W. 
Sackett. 

The  tenth  annual  session  was  held  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  November  17,  18,  and  19, 
1896.  Forty-three  orders,  with  a  total  mem- 
bership of  1,587,859,  were  represented. 
President  Spooners  annual  address  stated 
that  material  progress  had  been  made  in 
securing  legislation  in  the  interest  of  fra- 
ternal beneficiary  orders.  At  this  session, 
too,  the  necessity  for  increasing  rates  of 
assessments  was  considered,  basing  them  on 
some  recognized  mortality  tables,  so  as  to 
provide  an  emergency  fund  with  which  to 
meet  an  increased  death  rate,-  which  it  was 
held  would  appear  as  the  Orders  grow  older. 
The  concensus  of  opinion  favored  the  pro- 
posed change.  The  following  officers  were 
elected  :  President.  J.  G.  Johnson,  Peabody, 
Kan.  ;  Vice-President,  James  E.  Shepard, 
Lawrence,  Mass.;  Secretary  and  Treasurer, 
M.  W.  Sackett ;  Chaplain,  Rev.  J.  G.  Tate, 
Grand  Island,  Neb.  The  titles  of  the  or- 
ganizations represented  at  Louisville  in 
1896,  together  with  the  names  of  delegates 
there,  contrasted  with  like  data  respecting 
the  first  Congress,  that  held  at  Washington 
in  1886,  fitly  represent  the  growth  of 
the  "fraternity  of  fraternities"  sentiment 
throughout  the  country. 

Titles  of  Orders  and  names  of  delegates 
at  the  National  Fraternal  Congress  of  1896  : 

American  Legion  of  Honor,  Adam  War- 
nock.  Boston,  Mass. 


164  NATIONAL  FRATERNAL  CONGRESS 

Ancient  Order  of  the  Pyramids,  E.   S.  Pa.  ;  B.  F.  Nelson,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  L. 

McClintbck,  Topeka,  Kan.  A.  Gratz,  Louisville,  Ky. 

Ancient     Order    of    United    Workmen,  Knights  of  the  Loyal  Guard,  Mark  W. 

Joseph  E.   Riggs,   Lawrence,   Kan.;  J.  G.  Stevens  and  Orson  Millard,  M.D.,  Flint, 

Tate,    Grand    Island,    Neb. ;    and    D.  H.  Mich. 

Siiields,  M.D.,  Hannibal,  Mo.  Order  of  the  Maccabees,  D.  D.  Aitkin, 

Artisans'    Order  of    Mutual   Protection,  Flint,  Mich.  ;  Thomas  Watson,  Mrs.  M.  M. 

Louis  Maloney,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Danforth,    and    R.    E.    Moss,    M.D.,    Port 

Chosen   Friends,    Louis   A.    Steber,    St.  Huron,   Mich.  ;  George  J.  Seigle,  Buffalo, 

Louis,  Mo.  ;  William  B.  Wilson,   Newark,  N.  Y.  ;   Edward  L.  Young,  Norwalk,  0.; 

N.  J.  ;  Henry  Jamison,  M.D.,  Indianapo-  Mrs.   Lillian  M.  Hollister,  Detroit,  Mich., 

lis,  Ind.  and   Mrs.    Frances   E.    Burns,    St.    Louis, 

Empire   Knights   of    Relief,    Frank  E.  Mich. 

Munger,    Buffalo,    N.    Y.,   and   Philip  A.  Legion  of  the  Red  Cross,  H.  F.  Ackley, 

McCrae,  M.D.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  Camden,  N.  J. 

Equitable   Aid   Union,    Albert   Morgan,  Loyal    Additional    Benefit    Association, 

Corry,  Pa.  Frank  S.  Petter,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

Fraternal    Aid   Association,  William  T.  Modern   Woodmen   of  America,   Jasper 

Walker,    Kansas    City,    Kan.,    and    Levi  N.  Reece,  Springfield,  111.  ;  W.  A.  North- 

Horner,  M.D.,  Wichita,  Kan.  cott,    Greenville,    111.;  Charles  W.  Hawes, 

Fraternal  Legion,  J.  W.  P.  Bates,  M.D.,  Fulton,    111.  ;    A.    0.   Faulkner,    Lincoln, 

Baltimore,  Md.  Neb.;  Benjamin  D.  Smith,  Mankato,  Minn,, 

Fraternal  Mystic  Circle,  D.  E.  Stevens,  and  C.  A.  McCollum,  M.D.,  Minneapolis, 

Philadelphia,   Pa.,    and  F.   S.  Wagenhals,  Minn. 

M.D.,  Columbus,  0.  Mutual  Protection,  Dr.  W.  K.  Harrison, 

Golden  Chain,  J.  A.  Baden,  M.D.,  Balti-  Chicago,  111. 

more,  Md.  National   Provident  Union,   Edward  S. 

Home  Circle,  Julius  M.  Swain,  Boston,  Peck,  New  York  city. 

Mass.  National    Reserve    Association,    F.    W. 

Improved  Order  of   Heptasophs,    F.   L.  Sears  and  J.  T.  Craig,  M.D.,  Kansas  City, 

Brown,  Scranton,  Pa.  ;  John  G.  Mitchell,  Mo. 

Baltimore,    Md.,    and    J.    H.    Christian,  National   Union,   W.  M.   Bayne,   Cleve- 

M.D.,  Baltimore,  Md.  land,  0.;  J.  W.  Meyers,  Toledo,  0.,  and 

Independent  Order  of  Foresters,  Oron-  M.  R.  Brown,  M.D.,  Chicago,  111. 

hyatekha,    M.D.,    Toronto,    Ont.  ;    A.    E.  New  England  Order  of  Protection,  Lucius 

Stevenson,    Chicago,    111.  ;    J.    D.    Clark,  P.  Deming,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

Dayton,  0.,  and  Thomas  Millman,  M.D.,  Order     United     Friends,    John    G.    H. 

Toronto,  Ont.  Meyers,  New  York  city. 

Iowa  Legion  of  Honor,  Dr.  E.  R.  Hutch-  Protected  Home   Circle,   W.    S.   Palmer 

ins,  Des  Moines,  la.  and  S.  Heilman,  M.D.,  Sharon,  Pa. 

Knights  and  Ladies  of  Security,  W.  B.  Royal  Arcanum,  John  E.  Pound,  Lock- 

Kirkpatrick,   Topeka,    Kan.,    and   H.    A.  port,   N.   Y.  ;    J.   A.    Langfitt,   Pittsburg, 

Warner,  M.D.,  Topeka,  Kan.  Pa.  ;  Justin  F.  Price,  New  York  city;  W. 

Knights    and    Ladies    of    the     Golden  0.    Robson,    Boston,    Mass.,   and    J.    M. 

Star,    Rev.    Samuel    P.    Lacey,    Newark,  McKinstry,  Cleveland,  0. 

N.  J.  Royal  League,  C.  C.  Linthicum  and  Wal- 

Knights  of  Honor,  John  Mulligan,  Yon-  lace  K.  Harrison,  M.D.,  Chicago,  111. 

kers,  N.  Y.  ;  J.  W.  Goheen,  Philadelphia,  Royal   Society   of   Good  Fellows,   D.   S. 


NATIONAL  FRATERNAL   CONGRESS 


165 


Biggs,  Arlington,  Mass.,  and  W.  G.  Weaver, 
M.D.,  Wilkesbarre,  Pa. 

Eoyal  Templars  of  Temperance,  T.  N. 
Boyle,  D.D.,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  J.  W. 
Grosvenor,  M.D.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Select  Friends,  Dr.  J.  T.  Tinder,  Parsons, 
Kan. 

Shield  of  Honor,  James  H.  Livingston, 
Baltimore,  Md. 

Supreme  Tribe  of  Ben  Hur,  D.  W.  Gerard 
and  J.F.  Davidson, M.D.,Crawfordsville,Ind. 

United  Order  of  Pilgrim  Fathers,  J. 
Albion  Briggs,  Somerville,  Mass. ;  J.  S. 
Taft,  Keene,  N.  H. 

United  Order  of  the  Golden  Cross,  John 
:N".  Ehle,  Washington,  D.  0.  ;  J.  D.  Young, 
M.D.,  Winthrop,  Mass. 

Woodmen  of  the  World,  W.  0.  Rogers, 
M.D.,  and  Joseph  C.  Root,  Omaha,  Neb.  ; 
F.  A.  Falkenberg,  Denver,  Col. 

The  above  societies,  with  probably  ten 
others  not  represented  in  the  Congress, 
although  eligible,  constitute  the  fraternal 
beneficiary  system  of  the  country,  and  are 
in  no  way  to  be  classed  witli  the  old  line  life 
or  open  business  assessment  associations, 
nor  with  any  orders  or  associations  not 
recognized  by  the  National  Fraternal  Con- 
gress as  a  part  of  the  fraternal  beneficiary 
system  of  life  protection.  The  foregoing 
orders  hud  a  combined  membership  of  over 
one  million  and  a  half  in  189G,  and  had 
paid  out  within  a  year  for  life  benefits  the 
sum  of  828,034,855  ;  total  paid  out  since 
organization,  $231,043,180  ;  total  value  of 
life  benefit  certificates  in  force,  $3,026,- 
545,042.  The  net  increase  of  membership 
during  the  year  was  165,544,  all  of  which 
goes  to  show  what  the  fraternal  beneficiary 
system  of  the  country  as  represented  in  the 
National  Fraternal  Congress  has  accom- 
plished in  a  little  over  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

In  view  of  the  extraordinary  results  from 
this  form  of  cooperation  since  the  close  of 
the  Civil  War,  it  is  important  to  carefully 
distinguish  between  the  three  distinct  sys- 
tems of  life  protection  now  in  operation. 

First,  the  "  old  line  life  insurance,  or  level 


premium  system,'"  with  its  endowment,  ton- 
tine, and  semi-tontine  features.  In  this 
there  is  a  contract  between  the  company  and 
the  insured  called  a  policy,  and  profit  is  the 
controlling  object.  In  every  State  there  are 
laws  providing  for  the  incorporation  of  com- 
panies using  tliis  system  and  for  governing 
their  operations. 

Second,  the  open  business  assessment  sys- 
tem, in  which  the  contract  between  the  asso- 
ciations and  the  insured  is  sometimes  called 
a  policy  and  sometimes  a  certificate.  This 
system  has  no  lodges  or  fraternal  bond  to 
bind  the  insured  together,  and  the  associa- 
tions are  merely  business  concerns  without 
a  representative  form  of  government,  gen- 
erally close  corporations.  In  every  State, 
also,  laws  are  found  for  their  incorporation 
and  supervision. 

Third,  the  fraternal  beneficiary  system, 
composed  of  societies  having  a  representa- 
tive form  of  government,  subordinate 
lodges,  and  ritualistic  work,  furnishing 
financial  assistance  to  living  members  in 
sickness  or  destitution,  providing  for  the 
payment  of  benefits  to  living  members  in 
case  of  partial  or  total  physical  disability 
arising  from  sickness  or  old  age,  and  pro- 
viding benefits  at  the  death  of  members  for 
their  families  or  dependent  blood  relatives. 

The  lines  of  demarcation  between  the  three 
are  clear  and  distinct,  and  have  been  kept  so 
in  all  legislative  enactments  relating  to  them. 

The  uniform  bill  adopted  by  the  National 
Fraternal  Congress,  which  has  been  en- 
grafted on  the  statute  books  of  several  of 
the  States,  defines  what  constitutes  a  fra- 
ternal beneficiary  society  in  the  following 
terms:  Section  1.  A  fraternal  beneficiary 
association  is  hereby  declared  to  be  a  cor- 
poration, societ}',  or  voluntary  association, 
formed  or  organized  and  carried  on  for  the 
sole  benefit  of  its  members  and  their  bene- 
ficiaries and  not  for  profit.  Each  associa- 
tion shall  have  a  lodge  system,  with  ritual- 
istic form  of  work  and  representative  form 
of  government,  and  shall  make  provision 
for  tlie  payment  of  benefits  in  case  of  death. 


166 


NATIONAL   FRATERNAL   CONGRESS 


aud  may  make  provision  for  the  payments 
of  benefits  in  case  of  sickness,  accident,  or 
old  age,  provided  the  j^eriod  in  life  at  which 
payment  of  physical  disability  benefits  on 
acconnt  of  old  age  commences  shall  not  be 
under  seventy  (70)  years,  subject  to  their 
compliance  with  its  constitution  and  laws. 
The  fund  from  which  the  payment  of  such 
benefits  shall  be  made  and  the  fund  from 
which  the  expenses  of  such  association  shall 
be  defrayed  shall  be  derived  from  assess- 
ments or  dues  collected  from  its  members. 
Payments  of  death  benefits  shall  be  to  the 
families,  heirs,  blood  relatives,  affianced 
husbands,  affianced  wives,  or  to  persons  de- 
pendent upon  the  members.  Such  associa- 
tions shall  be  governed  by  this  act,  and  shall 
be  exempt  from  the  provisions  of  insurance 
laws  of  this  State,  and  no  law  hereafter 
passed  shall  apply  to  them  unless  they  be 
expressly  designated  therein. 

The  laws  of  the  National  Fraternal  Con- 
gress declare  that  no  fraternal  society, 
order,  or  association  shall  be  entitled  to 
rejoresentation  in  it  unless  the  latter  "  works 
under  a  ritual,  holds  regular  lodge  or  sim- 
ilar meetings,  where  the  purposes  are  con- 
fined to  visitation  of  the  sick,  relief  of  dis- 
tress, burial  of  -the  dead,  protection  of  wid- 
ows and  orj)hans,  education  of  the  orjihan, 
payment  of  a  benefit  for  temporary  or  per- 
manent disability  or  death,  and  where  these 
principles  are  an  obligated  duty  on  all  mem- 
bers, to  be  discharged  without  compensation 
or  pecuniary  reward;  where  the  general 
membership  attend  to  the  general  business 
of  the  order,  and  where  a  fraternal  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  each  other  is  a  dut}^  taught, 
recognized,  and  practised  as  the  motive  and 
bond  of  organization.''  The  mutual  agree- 
ment between  the  fraternal  society  and  the 
member  is  not  a  policy  or  contract  like  that 
entered  into  between  a  life  insurance  com- 
pany and  its  policy-holder.  Fraternal  soci- 
eties simply  issue  a  certificate  of  member- 
ship, in  which  the  member  agrees  to  comply 
with  all  rules  and  regulations  in  force  at  the 
time  he  becomes  a  member,  and  with  all 


changes  in  the  laws,  etc.,  that  may  be  law- 
fully made  during  his  membershij).  He  has 
no  vested  or  property  rights  while  living 
and  belonging  to  such  societies  unless  he 
should  become  sick  or  disabled,  and  then 
only  after  his  claim  has  been  allowed.  After 
the  death  of  a  member  who  has  complied 
with  the  laws,  the  beneficiary  has  a  vested 
or  property  right  to  the  amount  of  a  de- 
ceased member's  certificate,  as  provided  by 
the  society's  laws.  These  orders  are  co- 
operative bodies,  members  mutually  agree- 
ing to  protect  each  other  and  their  families 
and  dependents  in  case  of  sickness,  disabil- 
ity, or  death  by  contributing  a  .  certain 
amount  of  money  from  time  to  time  to  pro- 
vide for  the  jjayment  of  the  sum  specified  in 
the  certificate.  No  term-endowment,  ton- 
tine, or  any  other  form  of  speculative  cer- 
tificates are  issued,  neither  can  a  certificate 
within  the  objects  and  purposes  of  a  legiti- 
mate beneficiary  order  be  made  payable  to  a 
member  or  his  creditor,  nor  can  it  be  used 
as  collateral  for  a  loan  or  have  a  surrender 
value.  The  holder  can  transfer  it  to  any 
legal  beneficiary  without  the  consent  of  the 
person  named  in  the  certificate,  but  the 
policy  of  a  life  insurance  company  cannot 
be  so  transferred.  The  courts  hold  that  a 
beneficiary  of  a  member  has  no  vested 
rights  in  the  certificate,  but  that  a  per- 
son named  as,  the  payee  has  such  rights. 
The  decision  of  the  supreme  court  of 
Pennsylvania  in  the  Dickinson  case,  "  Ella 
M.  Dickinson  vs.  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen  of  Pennsylva- 
nia," defines  the  objects  and  purposes  of 
fraternal  beneficiary  societies,  and  holds  that 
they  are  not  insurance  corporations,  but 
purely  benevolent  associations,  as  follows: 
'•'  The  first  specification  charges  error  in 
admitting  the  application  thus  referred 
to.  This  is  grounded  on  the  assumption 
that  defendant  (the  A.  0.  U.  W.)  is  an  in- 
surance company,  and  the  contract  sued 
on  is  a  contract  of  assurance  on  the  life  of 
plaintiff's  husband  for  her  benefit.  Such 
assumption,  however,  is  unwarranted.     The 


NATIONAL   PROVIDENT    UNION 


l(i7 


defendant  is  not  an  insurance  company,  but 
belongs  to  the  distinctly  recognized  class  of 
organizations  known  as  benevolent  associa- 
tions. AVhat  is  known  as  a  benevolent  or- 
ganization, however,  has  a  wholly  different 
object  and  purpose  in  view.  The  great  un- 
derlying purpose  of  the  organization  is  not 
to  indemnify  or  secure  against  loss;  its  de- 
sign is  to  accumulate  a  fund  from  the  con- 
tributions of  its  members  for  beneficial  or 
protective  purposes,  to  be  used  in  their  own 
aid  or  relief,  in  the  misfortunes  of  sickness, 
injury,  or  death.  The  benefits,  although 
secured  by  contracts,  and  for  that  reason,  to 
a  limited  extent,  assimilated  to  the  proceeds 
of  insurance,  are  not  so  considered.  Such 
societies  are  rather  of  a  philanthropic  or 
benevolent  character;  their  beneficial  fea- 
tures may  be  of  a  narrow  or  restricted  char- 
acter; the  motives  of  the  members  may  be 
to  some  extent  selfish,  but  the  principle 
upon  which  they  rest  is  founded  in  the  con- 
siderations mentioned.  These  benefits,  by 
the  rule  of  their  organizations,  are  paying  to 
their  own  unfortunate,  out  of  funds  which 
the  members  themselves  have  contributed 
for  the  purpose,  not  as  an  indemnity  or 
security  against  loss,  but  as  a  protective  re- 
lief in  case  of  sickness  or  injury,  or  to  pro- 
vide the  means  of  a  decent  burial  in  the 
event  of  death.  Such  societies  have  no  cap- 
ital stock.  They  yield  no  profit,  and  their 
contracts,  although  beneficial  and  protective, 
altogether  exclude  the  idea  of  insurance,  or 
of  indemnity,  or  of  securing  against  loss.'' 
Hence  it  will  be  seen  that  the  fraternal 
beneficiary  orders  are  purely  cooperative  and 
non-speculative,  and  do  not  in  any  sense 
furnish  life  insurance.  Neither  can  they 
be  classed  with  the  open  business  assessment 
associations;  there  is  nothing  in  common 
between  them. 

National  Fraternity. — Organized  at 
Philadelphia  in  1893  by  members  of  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  "Workmen,  a  fra- 
ternal mutual  assessment  beneficiary  soci- 
ety, which  both  men  and  women  between 
eighteen  and  fifty  years  of  age  may  join. 


It  pays  deatii  benefits  of  from  §500  to 
13,500 ;  total  disability  benefits  of  from 
$250  to  $1,250;  and  sick  and  accident  bene- 
fits of  from  $5  to  $25  weekly,  with  a  cash 
distribution  at  stated  periods  of  all  earnings 
and  accumulations,  and  a  savings  dividend 
every  five  years  of  membership.  Lodges 
are  governed  by  Sections,  corresjtondiiig  to 
Grand  or  State  bodies,  and  the  Fraternity 
at  large  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Board  of  Control,  made  iip  of  its  officers 
and  representatives  of  the  Sections.  By  the 
system  of  five-year  credits  it  is  proposed  to 
cancel  all  sick  benefits  drawn  during  that 
period.  Any  excess  is  to  be  carried  over 
against  a  succeeding  five-year  credit  period. 
Sick  benefits,  previously  drawn,  are  de- 
ducted from  total  disability  claims,  and 
likewise  all  benefits  drawn  for  permanent  or 
temporary  disability  are  deducted  from  the 
ultimate  death  benefit,  unless  already  can- 
celled by  the  five-year  credits.  ''In  this 
manner  those  who  never  draw  sick  benefits 
will  not  suffer  from  those  who  do."  The 
former  A.  0.  U.  W.  plan  of  fixed  assess- 
ments of  $1.10  characterizes  the  organiza- 
tion, the  headquarters  of  which  are  at 
Philadelphia.  The  ritual  of  the  Society  is 
based  on  the  history  of  the  United  States, 
and  its  leading  emblem  is  the  dome  of  the 
capitol.  Like  so  many  other  similar  fra- 
ternities, it  has  a  motto  in  three  words  : 
-'  Charity,  Union,  and  Fellowship.  ''  The 
total  number  of  members  is  about  3,000. 

National  Provident  Union. — An  as- 
sessment, beneficiary  and  patriotic  organi- 
zation, founded  at  Xew  York  in  1883.  It 
is  governed  by  a  Congress  ])atterned  after 
the  United  States  House  of  Kejiresentatives. 
Its  10,000  members  are  found  principally  in 
New  England  and  the  Middle  States,  but 
the  Order  i.s  pushing  its  way  rapidly  to  the 
front  and  is  already  establishing  new  Coun- 
cils in  Central  and  Western  States.  Its 
democratic  character  is  shown  by  there 
being  300  ineml)er8  of  its  Congress.  Its 
death  benefits  range  from  $1,000  to  $5,000, 
and  the  live  interest  taken  in  securing  the 


168 


NATIONAL   RESERVE   ASSOCIATION 


most  advanced  system  of  assessments  to  meet 
death  benefit  payments  is  indicative  of  the 
exceptional  vitality  of  the  organization.  It 
is  very  strong  in  Greater  Xew  York,  where 
it  maintains  permanent  headquarters. 

National  Reserve  Association. — 
Founded  in  1891  at  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  by 
F.  W.  Sears,  32°,  an  Odd  Fellow,  a  Kni.sjht 
of  Pythias,  and  a  member  of  several  f  r.aternal 
beneficiary  orders.  It  receives  acceptable 
white  men  and  Avomen  on  ec[ual  terms,  to 
whom  or  their  beneficiaries  it  pays,  by  means 
of  assessments,  permanent,  total,  and  death 
benefits.     Total  membership  about  5,000. 

National  Union. — One  of  the  more  pro- 
gressive fraternal  assessment  beneficiary  so- 
cieties, organized  in  Mansfield,  0.,  and  in- 
corporated under  the  laws  of  Ohio,  May  11, 
1881,  by  Dr.  A.  E.  Keyes,  N.  N.  Leyman, 
E.  V.  Anders,  George  W.  Cole,  and  others. 
Dr.  Keyes,  who  was  elected  Medical  Di- 
rector, had  been  Supreme  Director  of  the 
Knights  of  Honor  and  Supreme  Eegent  of 
the  Eoyal  Arcanum.  N.  N.  Leyman  was 
also  a  man  of  experience  among  fraternal 
societies,  and  for  years  was  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Laws  of  the  Supreme  Council 
of  the  Eoyal  Arcanum.  George  W.  Cole 
was  a  Freemason.  Among  the  first  Board 
of  Officers  were  Dr.  W.  G.  Graham  of  "Win- 
field,  Kan. ;  George  L.  Fuller  of  Bingham- 
ton,  N.  Y.,  and  J.  "W".  Meyers  of  Columbus, 
0.,  each  of  whom  had  had  experience  in 
similar  societies. 

The  special  purposes  of  the  Order,  as  set 
forth  at  the  time  of  organization,  were:  That 
the  National  Union  is  a  distinctively  Ameri- 
can, secret,  beneficiary  Order,  formed  to  as- 
sociate white  male  citizens  of  good  moral 
character,  sound  bodily  health,  between 
twenty  and  fifty  years  of  age,  to  advance  its 
members  morally,  socially,  and  intellectually; 
to  provide  for  the  relief  of  sick  and  dis- 
tressed members  and  their  families,  and  to 
secure  a  benefit  fund  from  which,  upon  the 
death  of  a  member,  a  sum  not  exceeding 
15,000  shall  be  paid  to  such  beneficiaries 
related  to  the  deceased  member  as  mav  have 


been  designated  in  accordance  with  laws 
of  the  Order.  Certificates  are  issued  in 
amounts  of  $1,000,  $2,000,  $3,000,  $4,000, 
or  $5,000. 

The  feature  in  which  the  National  Union 
diflEered  from  the  fraternal  societies  that 
preceded  it  was  in  the  adoption  of  a  system 
of  assessments  graded  according  to  age, 
advancing  each  year  with  the  age  of  its 
members,  on  the  ^'step-rate  ^'  principle,  by 
which  each  member  pays  from  year  to  year 
the  actual  cost  of  the  protection  afforded. 
This  system  is  based  on  the  increasing  cost 
of  insurance  as  a  member  advances  in  age. 
The  vitality  of  the  Order  does  not,  therefore, 
depend  upon  new  members  alone,  but  is  also 
preserved  by  the  increasing  rate  of  assess- 
ments of  members,  thus  overcoming  the  ob- 
jection commonly  urged  against  assessment 
societies  which  do  not  have  reserve  funds. 
The  argument  is  that  the  inducement  for 
new  members  to  join  will  always  be  the 
same,  thereby  preserving  the  life  of  the 
Order  by  taking  in  younger  members  who 
have  the  advantage  of  paying  assessments 
at  their  own  ages,  but  who  are  not  com- 
pelled to  carry  the  burden  of  older  members, 
as  each  bears  his  equitable  proportion  of 
the  actual  cost. 

The  National  Union  is  patriotic  in  char- 
acter, and  the  American  flag  appears  in  its 
ritualistic  work.  The  government  of  the 
Order  is  modelled  after  that  of  the  United 
States,  its  Supreme  body  being  called  a 
Senate,  to  which  representatives  are  elected 
by  the  different  State  Assemblies  or  Legis- 
latures. Eepresentatives  to  the  Assemblies 
are  elected,  in  turn,  by  delegates  from  the 
different  Councils  in  the  various  States. 
The  Order  thus  has  a  Senate,  Assemblies, 
and  Councils,  or  Lodges,  the  latter  being 
subordinate  bodies.  The  principal  emblem. 
is  a  badge  representing  a  shield.  A  lapel 
button  is  also  worn,  which,  like  the  shield, 
displays  the  national  colors. 

The  membership  has  steadily  progressed, 
but  not  phenomenally,  and  in  personnel 
is  unexceptionable,  comprising  business  and 


NEW  ENGLAND  ORDER  OF  PROTECTION 


1G9 


professional  men  of  high  character  as  well 
as  those  in  tlie  humbler  walks  of  life.  The 
Order  has  Councils  estal)lished  in  the  follow- 
ing States  :  Ahibama,  Arizona,  Arkansas, 
California,  Colorado,  District  of  Columbia, 
Georgia,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas, 
Kentucky,  Maryland,  Michigan,  Minnesota, 
Missouri,  Montana,  Nebraska,  New  Jersey, 
New  York,  North  Carolina,  North  Dakota, 
New  Mexico,  Ohio,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania, 
Texas,  Tennessee,  Utah,  Virginia,  West 
Virginia,  "Washington,  and  AVisconsin.  At 
the  close  of  189G  there  were  48,000  mem- 
bers, and  at  that  time  there  had  been  paid 
to  beneficiaries  the  sum  of  87,500,000. 

The  table  of  rates  of  assessments  in  the 
National  Union  is  given  in  full,  owing  to 
the  system  constituting  a  marked  t^tep  in 
advance  in  the  history  of  the  development 
of  fraternal  assessment  societies. 

TABLE  OF  ASSESSMENT  KATES  PER  $1,000. 


[Inci 

eased  on  all  members  every  year,  thus  avoidinj; 

increas- 

ing  frequency 

of  assessments.] 

Cost  of 

Cost  of 

Cost  of 

Cost  of 

Age. 

each 

Age.      each 

Age. 

each 

Age. 

each 

Assess. 

Assess. 

Assess. 

Assess. 

20.. 

..§0  40 

32... SO  64 

44. 

. .  SO  96 

56 

..  SI  58 

21.. 

..       42 

33...       66 

45. 

..     1  00 

57. 

..    1  68 

22.. 

44 

34...      68 

46. 

..     1  04 

58. 

..     1  78 

23.. 

..       46    , 

35...      70 

47. 

..     1  08 

59. 

..   1  as 

24.. 

..       48 

36...      72 

48. 

..     1  12 

60. 

..     2  00 

25.. 

..      50 

37...      74 

49. 

..     1  16 

61. 

..     2  12 

20.. 

..       52 

:38..        76 

*50. 

..     1  20 

62. 

..     2  26 

27.. 

..       54 

39...       78 

51. 

..     1  26 

63. 

..     2  40 

28  . 

56 

40...      80 

52. 

..     1  32 

64. 

. .     2  60 

29.. 

..      58 

41 . . .      84 

53. 

..     1  38 

t65. 

..     2  80 

30.. 

..      60 

42...      88 

.54. 

..     1  44 

31.. 

62 

43...       92 

55. 

..     1  50 

*The  maximum  age  of  admission  is  fifty  years. 
tAge  at  which  assessments  cease  to  increase. 


No  certificates  are  issued  to  persons  over 
forty  years  of  age  for  more  than  $3,000. 
Not  more  than  ten  assessments  in  one  3'ear 
have  ever  been  levied  by  the  National  Union 
under  this  system  in  the  sixteen  years  of  its 
existence.  The  Order  is  prosperous,  pays 
its  losses  promjitly,  and  is  recognized  as  a 
beneficiary  fraternity  of  high  standing. 

Native  Sous  of  the  Golden  West. — 
Founded  July  11,  1875,  by  General  A.  :M. 
Winn  and  others,  at  San  Francisco,  for  the 
payment  of  sick  and  death  benefits.  !Mem- 
bershipis  restricted  to  citizens  of  California, 


and  among  its  0,500  members  are  many  of 
the  foremost  representatives  of  the  State. 

New  I^iiglaiKl  Order  of  Protection. — 
Organized  on  October  '^H,  ls.s7,  and  incor- 
porated under  the  laws  of  Massachusetts, 
November  12,  1887.  The  New  England 
Order  of  Protection  is  one  of  that  vast  num- 
ber of  fraternal  beneficiary  societies  which 
within  the  last  thirty  years  has  brought  hope 
to  the  heart  of  man  by  emphasizing  brother- 
hood and  by  caring  for  the  widowed  and  the 
fatherless.  The  founders  were  William  II. 
Martin,  H.  M.  Wentworth,  Edward  L. 
Noyes,  T.  F.  Boylen,  Charles  P.  Walker, 
William  M.  Bartlett,  B.  M.  Snow,  Samuel 
B.  Logan,  George  H.  Howard,  B.  B.  Law- 
rence, Granville  Cash,  A.  F.  Boylen,  Charles 
H.  Burr,  Fred  L.  Pool,  and  E.  L.  Noyes; 
to  which  are  added,  as  life  members  of  the 
Supreme  Lodge,  Samuel  P.  Tenney,  John 
J.  Whipple,  AVilliani  B.  Adams,  Albert  C. 
Loomis,  Levi  W.  Shaw,  John  K.  Thomp- 
son, Norman  M.  Stafford,  Milon  0.  Cluff, 
Charles  E.  Reed,  Eben  S.  Hinckley,  Wil- 
liam E.  Elliott,  Charles  II.  Thomas,  Henry 
F.  Burrill,  James  II.  Swallow,  James  II. 
Russ,  Daniel  M.  Frye,  Salmon  A.  Granger, 
Herbert  A.  Chase,  M.D.,  Leonora  M.  ]Mar- 
tin,  John  A.  Follet,  Mary  C.  Noyes,  Mary 
L.  AValker,  Sarah  C.  Hinckley,  Emma  F. 
Boylen,  Hannah  J.  Tenney,  Helen  M.  Whip- 
ple, Adam  W.  ^lartin,  Sarah  F.  Boylen, 
Maggie  Wentworth,  Eliza  Cash,  J.  E.  Lo- 
gan, Mary  J.  Campbell,  Clara  J.  Bartlett, 
Catherine  A.  Thomas,  ^largarette  Shaw, 
Percy  A.  Dame,  Daniel  E.  Frasier,  Mrs. 
Daniel  E.  Frasier,  Leonora  F.  Lathe,  and 
Kate  D.  Chase.  The  founders  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Knights  of  Honor,  Ignited  Order 
of  Pilgrim  Fathers,  United  Order  of  the 
Golden  Cross,  Order  of  United  Friends, 
Royal  Society  of  Good  Fellows,  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  Ancient  Order  of  United  AVork- 
men.  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and 
the  Masonic  Fraternity.  It  may  be  said  to 
be  an  outcome  of  theKnisfhts  and  Ladies  of 


170 


NORTH  AMERICAN   UNION 


Honor  on  the  question  of  separate  juris- 
diction which  arose  in  that  Order.  At  the 
Supreme  Lodge  of  the  Knights  and  Ladies 
of  Honor,  in  Philadelphia,  September  14, 

1887,  the  petition  of  twenty-one  Xew  Eng- 
land Lodges,  with  over  1,300  members,  for  a 
New  England  jurisdiction  was  referred  to 
the  committee  on  the  state  of  the  order. 
A  majority  of  that  committee  reported  in 
favor  of  the  petition,  and  a  minority  ad- 
versely; but  the  minority  rejjort  was  adopted. 
Inspired  by  the  success  of  the  Ancient  Order 
of  United  Workmen  under  a  separate  New 
England  jurisdiction,  those  who  had  agitated 
the  question  were  confident  that  an  order 
confined  within  the  limits  of  the  six  New 
England  States  could  be  made  successful, 
and  one  month  later  the  new  society  was 
formed.  Its  objects  are  to  unite  fraternally 
all  white  persons  of  good  moral  character 
and  steady  habits;  to  provide  for  and  com- 
fort the  sick;  to  establish  relief  and  benefit 
funds  from  which,  ujoon  satisfactory  proof 
of  the  death  of  a  beneficiary  member,  a  sum 
not  exceeding  $3,000  shall  be  paid  to  his 
or  her  family  as  directed  by  the  member. 
The  first  Lodge  was  instituted  November 
17,  1887,  with  46  members.     On  April  30, 

1888,  the  total  membership  waa  2,117;  on 
April  30,  1889,  it  amounted  to  6,213;  on 
April  1,  1892,  to  11,949;  on  April  1,  1894, 
to  15,656;  on  April  1,  1896,  to  19,722,  and 
on  January  1,  1897,  to  21,122.  The  Order 
on  January  1,  1897,  carried  137,812,000 
j)rotection,  and  had  paid  out  $1,311,000.  It 
pays  $1,000, 12,000,  and  $3,000  benefits,  and 
is  conducted  on  the  graded  assessment  plan, 
with  an  increase  in  the  rate  of  assessment,  as 
shown  in  the  following  table: 


1st 

2d 

3d 

Between 

the 

Rate 

Rate 

Rate 

Ages. 

$1,000 

$2,000 

$3,000 

18  and 

25 

30 

60 

90 

25     " 

30 

35 

70 

1  05 

30     " 

35 

40 

80 

1  20 

35     " 

40 

45 

90 

1  35 

40     " 

45 

50 

1  00 

1  50 

45     " 

46 

55 

1  10 

1  65 

46     " 

47 

60 

1  20 

1  80 

47     " 

48 

65 

1  30 

1  95 

48     " 

49 

70 

1  40 

2  10 

49     " 

50 

75 

1  50 

2  25 

Subordinate  Lodges  are  under  the  imme- 
diate control  of  a  Grand  Lodge,  Past  War- 
dens of  subordinate  Lodges  being  members 
of  Grand  Lodges.  The  Supreme  Lodge  is 
composed  of  officers,  standing  commitee,  all 
Past  Supreme  Wardens,  incorporators  of  the 
Supreme  Lodge  named  in  the  original  certifi- 
cate of  incorporation,  and  such  others  as 
were  elected  previous  to  the  session  of  1888, 
and  representatives  of  Grand  Lodges,  elected 
annually  to  serve  for  two  years.  Each 
Grand  Lodge  has  three  representatives  and 
three  alternates  for  the  first  1,000  members 
in  the  State,  and  one  for  each  additional 
1,000  and  majority  fraction  thereof.  The 
Supreme  Lodge  meets  annually,  on  the  sec- 
ond Tuesday  in  May,  in  the  city  of  Boston, 
and  as  it  is  the  legislative  body,  only  bene- 
ficiary members  are  admitted.  Both  men  and 
women  have  a  voice  and  vote  in  subordinate. 
Grand,  and  Supreme  bodies,  and  are  eligible 
to  any  office.  The  membership  by  States 
November  1,  1896,  was  as  follows: 

Men.  Women.  Totals. 

Maine 1,059  2,033  3,093 

New  Hampshire.   . . .  278  425  703 

Vermont 202  726  928 

Massachusetts 3,394  6.576  9,970 

Rhode  Island 205  600  805 

Connecticut 1,400  4,15^  5,553 

Totals 6,538  14,513  21,051 

The  Order  has  been  unusually  successful. 
It  paid  its  first  death  benefit  of  $1,000  at 
the  end  of  the  first  five  months  of  its  exist- 
ence, when  the  membership  was  only  2,117. 
Within  less  than  ten  years  it  has  made  a 
record  of  which  any  similar  Order  might  be 
proud,  and  the  six-j^ointed  star,  the  jewel 
of  the  society,  is  honored  alike  by  its  own 
and  by  members  of  other  fraternities. 

Nortli  American  Union. — A  new  fra- 
ternal beneficiary  association,  organized  at 
Chicago. 

Northwestern  Legion  of  Honor. — A 
benevolent  fraternity  formed  to  furnish 
members  with  life  insurance  at  cost,  to 
which  all  acceptable  white  persons  between 
eighteen  and  fifty  years  of  age,  whose  occu- 
pation is  not  extra  hazardous,  are  eligible. 


ORDER   OF   CHOSEN   FRIENDS 


171 


It  does  business  in  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Iowa, 
Minnesota,  North  and  South  Dakota,  and 
was  incorporated  March  12,  1884,  in  the 
State  of  Iowa.  It  is  governed  by  a  Grand 
Council  composed  of  its  officers  and  repre- 
sentatives from  subordinate  Councils,  thus 
avoiding,  like  the  Iowa  Legion  of  Honor, 
much  of  the  machinery  of  many  similar  or- 
ganizations. It  issues  beneficiary  certificates 
to  men  and  women  members  alike  for  $500, 
$1,000,  $2,000,  or  $3,000  each.  Assess- 
ments are  graded  according  to  age,  one-fifth 
of  each  assessment  going  into  the  reserve 
fund  from  which  losses  are  to  be  met  in  case 
of  epidemics  or  other  causes  of  increase  in 
the  death  rate.  This  Order  frankly  admits 
it  is  an  offspring  of  the  American  Legion  of 
Honor.  Its  ritual  teaches  benevolence. 
The  total  membership  is  about  2,500.  The 
emblem  of  the  Order  is  the  six-jiointed  star, 
with  the  abbreviations  of  the  names  of  the 
States  in  the  angles ;  the  motto,  ''  We 
work  together,"  in  the  centre,  surrounding 
"N.  ^\.  L.  of  IL,"  the  whole  overhung 
with  an  encircling  chain  of  seven  links. 
(See  American  Legion  of  Honor.) 

Order  of  Alfredians.— ^Dormant.  Ac- 
tive at  Boston,  Providence,  and  elsewhere 
in  New  England  more  than  twenty  years 
ago.  It  embodied  beneficiary  features,  but 
was  founded  for  the  "descendants  of  the 
wdse  and  good  King  Alfred.''  It  commemo- 
rated April  23d,  because  on  that  day  in  871 
Alfred  ascended  the  throne,  and  also  because 
Shakespeare  was  born  on  April  23d,  "the 
poet  of  all  time,  the  embalmer  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  tongue." 

Order  of  American  Fraternal  Circle. 
— A  Baltimore  mutual  assessment  organiza- 
tion, founded  prior  to  18S9.    It  died  in  1S94. 

Order  of  Aniitie. — A  Philadelphia  mu- 
tual assessment  insurance  society.  Died  in 
1894. 

Order  of  Chosen  Friends. — A  frater- 
nal, benevolent,  and  protective  society,  or- 
ganized under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  In- 
diana. It  was  established  May  28,  1879,  at 
Indianapolis,  Ind.,  and  has  now  over  GOO 


Councils  and  26,000  members  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada.  It  makes  provisions 
for  payment,  in  addition  to  sick  and  death 
benefits,  one  to  aged  members,  and  also  one 
to  those  who  become  totally  disabled  by  rea- 
son of  disease  or  accident.  Its  objects  are 
to  unite,  fraternally,  acceptable  white  per- 
sons of  good  character,  steady  habits,  sound 
bodily  health,  and  reputable  calling,  who 
believe  in  a  Supreme  Being;  to  improve 
their  condition  morally,  socially,  and  mate- 
rially by  timely  counsel  and  instructive 
lessons,  encouragement  in  business,  and 
assistance  to  obtain  employment  when  in 
need;  to  establish  a  relief  fund  from  which 
a  sum  not  exceeding  $3,000  shall  be  jiaid, 
first,  when  disabled  by  old  age  (provided 
seventy-five  years  are  reached);  second, 
when  by  disease  or  accident  a  member  be- 
comes permanently  disabled;  and,  third, 
when  a  member  dies.  The  Supreme  Coun- 
cil makes  all  laws  for  the  government  of 
the  Order,  and  -has  entire  management  of 
the  relief  fund.  Beneficiary  membership  is 
optional.  A  medical  examination  is  re- 
quired before  an  apj)licant  can  become  a 
beneficiary  member.  Certificates  are  issued 
for  $500,  $1,000,  $2,000,  or  $3,000  as  de- 
sired, subject  to  the  approval  of  the  super- 
vising medical  examiner. 

Beneficiary  members  are  required  to  pay 
into  the  relief  fund  at  deaths  of  members 
sums  graded  according  to  age.  By  the 
equalization  plan  of  paying  assessments  all 
members  "pay  an  equal  amount  for  an 
equal  benefit.''  The  member  who  lives  out 
his  expectancy  of  life,  or  passes  his  seventy- 
fifth  birthday,  "pays  no  more  for  his  one- 
thousand-dollar  benefit  than  the  member 
Avho  is  so  unfortunate  as  to  die  within  a 
short  time  after  acquiring  membership." 
This  plan  "  in  this  respect  is  unique.''  It 
makes  the  cost  a  fixed  sum  for  each  $1,000. 
Where  this  is  not  done,  the  cost  would  be 
uncertain  and  assessments  frequently  come 
so  often  as  to  be  burdensome.  In  the  early 
part  of  February,  1878,  Albert  Alcon  and 
T.  B.  Linn,  residents  of  Indianapolis,  Ind., 


172 


ORDER   OF   CHOSEN   FRIENDS 


and  members  of  several  fraternal  orders, 
were  discussing  the  merits  and  demerits  of 
tlie  societies  to  which  they  belonged.  At 
that  time  there  Avere  a  number  of  organiza- 
tions paying  death  benefits,  but  none  paying 
disability  or  old  age  benefits  to  members 
through  a  national  organization.  It  was 
believed  that  there  was  not  only  room,  but 
a  demand,  for  an  order  with  that  feature. 
They  solicited  friends  to  unite  with  them, 
and  received  half-way  promises  from  some 
and  refusals  from  others;  but  a  meeting  was 
called  May  2,  1878,  and  another  on  June 
1st,  at  which  there  were  four  persons  pres- 
ent, among  them  J.  B.  Nickersou.  A  third 
meeting,  June  8th,  brought  in  Emi  Ken- 
nedy. During  the  summer  and  fall  of  1878 
Messrs.  Alcon,  Linn,  Nickerson,  and  Ken- 
nedy held  many  meetings  and  perfected  a 
plan,  constitution,  and  laws  for  the  new 
Order.  Mr.  Linn  acted  as  Secretary,  and 
upon  him  devolved  the  labor  of  formulat- 
ing the  ideas  agreed  to.  The  admission  of 
ladies  to  the  Order  was  a  subject  of  frequent 
and  prolonged  discussion,  but  finally  it  was 
decided  to  admit  them  on  the  same  terms 
and  in  the  same  manner  as  men.  Up  to 
that  date  a  few  orders  had  established  a 
women's  degree,  or  branch,  into  which  the 
wives,  mothers,  sisters,  and  daughters  of 
members  could  be  admitted;  but  the  Order 
of  Chosen  Friends  claims  the  honor  of  lead- 
ing in  recognizing  the  full  cooperation  of 
woman  in  the  fraternal  insurance  world. 
The  selection  of  the  ritualistic  work  gave 
the  founders  much  thought  and  study.  The 
perfect  number  "seven"  was  selected  as 
the  central  idea,  and  Mr.  Linn  was  chosen 
to  write  the  ritual.  He  perfected  the  plan 
and  composed  the  charges.  At  that  time, 
November,  1878,  Eev.  Dr.  T.  G.  Beharrell, 
a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and 
well  known  in  Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows' 
circles,  became  interested  in  the  movement, 
and  to  him  was  assigned  the  revision  and 
completion  of  the  ritual.  To  be  in  harmony 
with  the  central  idea  of  the  ritual,  the 
"  chain  of  seven  links  "  was  selected  as  the 


leading  emblem.  By  May  28,  1879,  the 
Order  of  Chosen  Friends  was  declared  an 
established  fact,  with  twenty-three  charter 
members  on  its  rolls.  The  first  set  of  offi- 
cers and  members  is  as  follows:  Supreme 
Councillor,  Rev.  Dr.  T.  G.  Beharrell,  In- 
dianajiolis,  Ind. ;  Supreme  Assistant  Coun- 
cillor, Albert  Alcon,  Sheridan,  Ind. ;  Su- 
preme Vice-Councillor,  Emi  Kennedy;  Su- 
preme Recorder,  T.  B.  Linn;  Supreme 
Treasurer,  W.  W.  Douglass;  Supreme  Medi- 
cal Examiner,  Charles  D.  Pearson,  M.D.,  all 
of  Indianapolis;  Supreme  Prelate,  Hon.  Wil- 
liam Cumback,  Greensburg,  Ind. ;  Supreme 
Marshal,  C.  Bradford;  Supreme  AVarden, 
J.  B.  Nickerson,  both  of  Indianapolis;  Su- 
preme Guard,  C.  H.  Buttner,  Cleveland,  0. ; 
and  Supreme  Sentry,  M.  C.  Davis,  Indian- 
apolis, Ind. ;  Supreme  Trustees,  W.  H. 
Page,  Hon.  J.  F.  Wallick,  Hon.  John 
Cavin,  G.  H.  Webber,  and  B.  F.  Rogers, 
all  of  Indianapolis.  Other  original  mem- 
bers were  Joseph  Greenwood,  M.  D.  Losey, 
William  H.  Partlow,  Hamilton  McCoy,  F.  D. 
Somerby,  0.  S.  Hadley,  and  C.  H.  Behar- 
rell, all  of  Indianapolis. 

On  June  30,  1879,  the  first  subordinate 
Council,  Alpha,  No.  1,  of  Indiana,  was  or- 
ganized at  Indianapolis  with  30  charter 
members  present.  Ohio  Council,  No.  1,  of 
Ohio,  was  instituted  Jul}^  15, 1879,  at  Woos- 
ter,  with  24  charter  members  present;  and 
Lincoln  Council,  No.  2,  of  Ohio,  at  Cleve- 
land, October  8,  1879,  with  34  present.  At 
the  first  annual  session  of  the  Supreme 
Council,  held  in  Indianapolis,  October  21, 
1879,  the  Supreme  Recorder  reported  three 
Councils  with  a  membership  of  150.  A 
year  later  this  had  grown  to  60  Councils 
and  3,536  members  in  eleven  States.  The 
Order  rapidly  increased  during  the  follow- 
ing year,  numbering  10,133  members  in  176 
Councils  located  in  24  States,  at  the  end  of 
the  fiscal  year  closing  June  30,  1881.  This 
had  further  increased  to  12,392  members 
and  221  Councils  by  September  30th,  when 
a  season  full  of  troubles  followed.  A  dis- 
sension   arose   among  the  members  of  the 


ORDER   OF  CHOSEN   FRIENDS 


173 


Grand  Council  of  California,  resulting  in 
schism,  by  which  the  Order  lost  about  3,000 
members.  The  superintendent  of  insur- 
ance in  the  State  of  New  York  attempted  to 
rule  the  Order  out  of  that  State  on  account 
of  its  old  age  disability  features,  going  so 
far  as  to  threaten  with  arrest  and  inqirison- 
ment  officers  and  members  if  they  did  not 
cease  working  in  Xew  York.  The  Order 
appealed  to  the  courts,  and  after  a  pro- 
longed and  bitter  contest  was  sustained  in 
its  position — viz.,  that  it  was  legally  tloing 
business  in  New  York.  The  situation  there 
called  attention  to  other  States,  and  it  was 
found  that  some  of  them  made  no  jirovi- 
sions  for  the  payment  of  disability  benefits 
by  a  fraternal  society,  and  such  defects  had 
to  be  remedied  through  the  legislatures  of 
such  States.  These  contests  caused  a  loss 
of  7,001  members  during  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June,  30,  1882  ;  but  8,126  new 
members  were  added,  making  a  net  gain 
for  the  year  of  925.  The  following  years 
were  in  the  main  prosperous,  and  the  Order, 
after  sixteen  years  of  experience,  had  on 
June  30,  1895,  a  membership  of  38,095,  and 
had  paid  to  beneficiaries  of  4,789  dead  mem- 
bers 88,839,704;  to  613  disabled  members, 
1)562,980;  to  16  members  disabled  by  old 
age,  $32,000;  and  45  advance  or  immediate 
payments  to  beneficiaries  of  dead  members 
whose  claims  were  in  process  of  adjustment, 
813,700;  in  all,  89,448,383.  The  Order  is 
eighteen  and  a  half  years  old,  has  paid 
$10,209,513  to  the  beneficiaries  of  5,579 
of  its  members  who  have  died;  8620,780  to 
734  members  who  became  permanently  dis- 
abled from  earning  a  livelihood;  and  8116,- 
872  to  61  members  disabled  by  the  burden 
of  old  age,  a  total  of  810,947,165.  It  has 
Councils  in  Arizona,  California,  Colorado, 
Connecticut,  District  of  Columbia,  Georgia, 
Illinois,  Indiana,  Kansas,  Kentucky,  Mary- 
land, Michigan,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  Mon- 
tana, Nebraska,  New  Jersey,  New  York, 
Nevada,  North  Carolina,  Ohio,  Ontario,  Ore- 
gon, Pennsylvania,  South  Carolina,  South 
Dakota,  Tennessee,  Texas,  Virginia,  "Wash- 


ington,  and  Wisconsin,  thirty-one   States, 
and  in  Canada. 

Most  of  the  original  members  were  mem- 
bers of  various  leading  fraternal  beneficiary 
secret  societies,  and  some  were  prominent 
Odd  Fellows  and  Freemasons.  It  is  par- 
ticularly noteworthy  that  several  of  the  lat- 
ter were  members  of  the  higher  degrees  in 
Scottish  liite  Masonry.  The  princi2)al  em- 
blem, a  seven-pointed  star  containing  the 
primary  colors  in  the  angles,  with  two  in- 
scribed triangles  containing  the  figure  7 
in  the  centre,  is  especially  significant  and 
points  to  the  popularity  of  the  mysticism 
hedging  about  these  ])articular  symbols 
among  modern  ritual  makers.  The  stu- 
dent who  is  also  a  Scottish  Rite  Mason  will 
find  something  in  this  to  interest  him  when 
considered  in  connection  with  the  historical 
sketch  of  the  Order  of  the  Heptasophs,  or 
Seven  Wise  Men.  Members  of  the  latter 
organization  and  of  the  Order  of  Chosen 
Friends  have  practically  identical  emblems. 
In  addition  to  the  foregoing  the  Chosen 
Friends  present  the  clasped  hands,  a  seven- 
linked  chain,  and  a  representation  of  the 
Good  Samaritan.  The  Order  is  also  note- 
worthy for  having  given  birth  to  five  similar 
organizations,  the  results  of  disaiTectiou  and 
schism.  The  first  was  the  secession  in  New 
York  State,  which  caused  a  good  deal  of  feel- 
ing. The  trouble  between  the  insurance 
department  of  the  State  of  New  York  and 
the  Order  of  Chosen  Friends  has  already 
been  referred  to.  The  result  was  the  for- 
mation of  the  Order  of  United  Friends  in 
New  York  in  1881.  The  Chosen  Friends 
in  California  demanded  a  separate  jurisdic- 
tion in  1882,  and  it  was  denied,  wliereujwn 
they  seceded  and  formed  the  Independent 
Order  of  Chosen  Friends.  It  flourished  for 
a  few  years  and  attained  a  membership  of 
7,000  or  8,000,  when  it  collapsed.  The 
United  Friends  of  Michigan  Avas  organized 
in  1889,  shortly  after  the  meeting  of  the 
Supreme  Council  of  the  Order  of  Chosen 
Friends  in  that  3'ear,  at  which  the  repre- 
sentative  of    the    Supreme    Council   from 


174 


ORDER  OF  FRATERNAL  HELPERS 


Michigan  failed  to  secure  the  recognition 
he  believed  himself  entitled  to.  It  was  or- 
ganized by  Dr.  G.  A.  Kirker  of  Detroit, 
and  E.  F,  Lamb  of  Mt.  Morris,  Mich.,  and 
has  grown  and  prospered.  In  the  years  1891 
and  1892  the  Order  had  some  difficulty  with 
the  laws  in  the  Province  of  Ontario.  It  was 
believed  by  some  members  there  that  a  sejja- 
rate  jurisdiction  would  remedy  the  matter, 
but  before  it  could  be  accomplished  a  schism 
occurred,  and  the  Canadian  Order  of  Chosen 
Friends  was  organized.  In  1895,  immedi- 
ately after  the  passage  of  the  Morse  equaliza- 
tion laws,  a  disappointed  aspirant  for  office 
headed  a  division  of  the  German  members 
in  Chicago,  and  formed  a  new  organization, 
called  the  United  League  of  America. 
Whether  the  movement  was  a  success  or 
not  is  not  known. 

Order  of  Fraternal  Helpers. — One  of 
the  numerous  local  mutual  assessment  in- 
surance Orders  founded  in  New  England. 
Letters  of  inquiry  returned  unopened. 

Order  of  Fraternal  Preceptors. — Mu- 
tual assessment,  beneficiary  society,  organized 
at  Grand  Haven,  Mich.,  prior  to  1889.  Un- 
known there  now. 

Order  of  Mutual  Aid. — Formed  at 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  where  it  collapsed  a  few 
years  later,  in  1878,  owing  to  the  ravages  of 
the  yellow  fever  epidemic.  It  was  a  South- 
ern offshoot  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen  and  of  the  Knights  of  Honor.  Its 
only  surviving  offspring  is  the  Knights  of 
the  Golden  Eule,  organized  at  Cincinnati  in 
1879.     (See  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eule.) 

Order  of  Mutual  Protection. — Organ- 
ized at  St.  Louis  in  1878,  an  outgrowth  of 
the  Order  of  Mutual  Aid,  and  incorporated 
under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Missouri. 
Men  and  women  between  eighteen  and  fifty 
years  of  age,  in  good  health,  not  engaged  in 
hazardous  occupations,  are  eligible  to  mem- 
bership. Members  enjoy  the  social  privi- 
leges of  Lodge  rooms,  the  moral  and  social 
advancement,  and  the  encouragement  in 
business  to  which  they  are  entitled  under 
the  "  laws  and  bonds  of  mutual  assistance." 


Death  benefit  certificates  of  $500, 11,000,  and 
13,000  are  issued,  except  to  women  and  to 
saloon  keepers,  who  are  restricted  to  $1,000. 
At  total  disability  a  member  is  entitled  to 
one-half  the  amount  of  his  or  her  certificate, 
and  on  reaching  the  age  of  seventy  years, 
the  whole  amount.  Sick  benefits  are  paid 
in  the  discretion  of  subordinate  Lodges.  No 
Lodges  are  established  in  the  Southern  States, 
excepting  the  two  Virginias,  Maryland,  in 
Kentucky,  and  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
The  government  of  the  Order  is  vested  in 
a  Supreme  Lodge  composed  of  representa- 
tives of  subordinate  Lodges.  Total  mem- 
bership amounts  to  about  5,000,  and  about 
1600,000  has  been  paid  in  sick,  disability, 
and  death  benefits.  The  ritual  embodies 
features  found  in  the  secret  work  of  many 
similar  organizations.  The  office  of  the  Su- 
preme Secretary  is  at  Chicago. 

Order  of  Mogullians. — A  "side  de- 
gree "  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen.     (See  the  latter.) 

Order  of  Odd  Ladies. — A  New  Eng- 
land mutual  benefit,  assessment  society  mani- 
festly named  in  imitation  of  the  Odd  Fellows. 
No  replies  have  been  received  to  inquiries. 

Order  of  Protestant  Knights. — De- 
scribed in  the  census  of  1890  as  a  mutual 
assessment  beneficiary  organization,  with  the 
office  of  the  Secretary  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
Not  known  there  now. 

Order  of  Shepherds  of  Bethlehem. — 
Organized  "in  America,"  November  19, 
189G,  by  Ira  A.  M.  Wycoff,  at  Trenton, 
N.  J.,  a  sick  and  funeral  benefit  association 
to  which  men  and  women  between  eighteen 
and  fifty-five  years  of  age  are  eligible.  Its 
membership  is  about  2,000.  The  Order  is 
evidently  drawn  from  the  same  source  as  the 
Order  of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem,  an  outline 
of  which  is  given  in  connection  herewith. 
Compare  the  latter  with  the  following  ex- 
tract from  the  "  History  of  the  Order  of  the 
Shepherds  of  Bethlehem  " : 

In  1875  a  prominent  officer  named  Sir  Fred  Holt 
came  to  New  York  and  started  two  Lodges,  which 
grew  nicely  until  Sir  Holt's  duties  as  Scribe  of  the 


ORDER  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CHAIN 


175 


Sovereign  Lodge  called  him  to  Europe,  -when  they 
quarrelled,  and  under  a  strange  name  ran  on  for  a 
time,  and  died  out,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  small 
Western  Lodges  that  had  their  start  from  them  and 
drifted  into  another  snuiU  Order  not  connected  with 
this.*  The  eJTort  was  ill-advised,  witii  no  good  re- 
sults. The  next  person  who  took  up  t  he  matter  was 
a  popular  antiquarian  who  went  to  the  Holy  Land 
to  study  the  Order  among  the  shepherds  as  it  origi- 
nally existed  and  is  now  in  the  home  of  these 
jincient  people  of  the  Holy  Land.  lie  learned  all 
the  old  legends  and  methods  of  the  Order,  and  on 
his  return  presented  tlie  Order  in  the  thoroughly 
original  form,  translated  and  put  in  modern  shape. 
By  special  arrangement  the  Supreme  Lodge  of 
Nortli  America  was  formed  in  189G,  and  instructed 
in  the  beautiful  ceremonies  of  this  old  and  won- 
drous Order.  The  Supreme  Lodge  of  North  Amer- 
ica, by  authority  of  the  Sovereign  Lodge,  is  supreme 
authority  in  North  America. 

There  are  marked  similarities  between  the 
two  Orders  of  Bethlehemites,  notably  the 
provision  that  membership  does  not  lapse  in 
either  for  non-payment  of  dues,  except  so 
far  as  the  right  to  share  in  benefits  is  con- 
cerned, and  the  custom  of  addressing  mem- 
bers by  the  titles  Sir  and  Lady.  The  rit- 
ualistic ceremonies  of  the  Shepherds  of 
Bethlehem  are  declared  to  be  beautiful  and 
elevating.  The  first  degree  is  entitled  that 
of  Light,  the  second  the  ShephercVs,  and  the 
third  the  Disciple's  degree.  (Com2)are  with 
Ancient  Order  of  Shepherds,  Order  of  the 
Star  of  Bethlehem,  and  Shepherds  of  Amer- 
ica.) When  one  reads  in  the  leaflets  of  these 
/  Bethlehemite  Orders  that  each  "is  without 
a  doubt  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  world,  and 
was  founded  as  an  Order  shortly  after  the 
birth  of  Christ,  by  the  shepherds  who 
watched  over  their  flocks  on  that  eventful 
night,  when  they  were  first  chosen  of  God 
to  hear  of  the  birth  of  our  Saviour  and  went 
at  once  to  see  and  worship  him,"  he  is  com- 
pelled to  wonder  at  the  audacity  of  the 
genealogist  who  constructed  the  society's 
family  tree. 

Order  of  Sparta. — Organized  by  J.  B. 
^Moffitt,  "Robert  A.  Welsh,  James  ^IcConnell, 
Alexander   J.  McCleary,   and    William   H. 

*  Order  of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem  ? 


Smith,  all  of  Philadelphia,  in  1879,  as  a 
mutiud  assessment,  death  benefit  society. 
Its  field  is  restricted  to  within  one  hundred 
miles  of  Philadelphia.  The  founders  were 
all  members  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  who  souglit  to  establish  a  com- 
pact secret  society  with  the  one-dollar  assess- 
ment of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men. They  confined  membership  to  men 
between  twenty-one  and  fifty  years  of  age, 
of  good  physical  health,  "  believers  in  the 
Christian  faith.''  Its  ritual  is  founded  on 
the  history  of  ancient  Sparta,  thus  parallel- 
ing the  English  Order  of  Ancient  Eomans 
in  its  search  for  a  new  source  for  its  rites 
and  ceremonies,  and  the  (American)  Order 
of  Heptasophs,  or  Seven  Wise  j\Ien.  The 
Order  is  managed  conservatively,  and  has 
an  invested  permanent  fund  with  which  to 
pay  the  assessments  of  those  who  may  re- 
tain their  membership  twenty-five  years, 
and  a  relief  fund  with  which  to  pay  the 
assessments  of  members  who  through  sick- 
ness or  financial  disability  may  be  unable 
to  pay  them.  This  is  done  to  keep  worthy 
distressed  members  in  good  standing,  and  is 
accomplished  "  without  the  general  knoAvl- 
edge  of  the  organization."  The  total 
amount  of  benefits  paid  exceeds  $1,000,000. 
The  Order  is  governed  by  a  Great  Senate 
which  exercises  jurisdiction  over  tlie  subordi- 
nate Senates.  Its  7,000  members  are  drawn 
largely  from  the  mercantile  and  professional 
walks  of  life,  although  nearly  all  trades  are 
represented.  The  seat  of  the  Great  Senate 
contains  a  representation  of  a  shield  upon 
which  is  a  sword  and  the  words,  ''  With  it 
or  upon  it." 

Order  of  the  Black  Kiiig^ht. — A  Ger- 
man (Deutscher  Orden  Schwarze  Ritter) 
secret,  benevolent  society.  It  claims  an 
existence  here  of  about  thirty  years.  Its 
strength  is  principally  in  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, New  York,  and  District  of  Colum- 
bia. Like  some  other  German  Orders,  it 
claims  great  antiquity. 

Order  of  tlie  Goldi'u  Chain. — Organ- 
ized at  Baltimore,   December  22,  1881,  by 


176 


ORDER  OF  THE  HEPTASOPHS,  OR  SEVEN  WISE  MEN 


members  of  the  Knights  of  Honor,  Royal 
Arcanum,  American  Legion  of  Honor,  and 
the  Masonic  Fraternity,  as  a  mutual  assess- 
ment beneficiary  society  to  which  men  be- 
tween twenty-one  and  fifty-one  years  of  age 
are  eligible.  It  insures  the  lives  of  mem- 
bers for  $1,000,  12,000,  or  13,000,  besides 
which  it  pays  sick  and  total  disability  bene- 
fits. It  employs  the  popular  step-rate 
graded  system  of  assessments,  and  enjoys 
the  enviable  record  of  having  paid  out  more 
than  $1,600,000  to  beneficiaries  since  organ- 
ization at  an  average  annual  cost  to  those 
insured  of  about  18  per  $1,000.  The  total 
membership  is  about  11,000,  and  is  steadily 
increasing.  The  ritual  seeks  to  exemplify 
the  meaning  of  the  golden  chain  of  friend- 
ship, which,  represented  by  twelve  links  of 
a  chain  surrounding  a  monogram  comjDOsed 
of  the  letters  0.  G.  C.  and  the  motto  of  the 
Order  in  Greek,  constitute  the  emblem  of 
the  society.  The  Order  is  incorporated 
under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Maryland, 
with  its  headquarters  at  Baltimore,  and  is  a 
worthy  sister  of  similar  organizations  which 
have  had  their  origin  in  that  city. 

Oi'der  of  the  Heptasoplis,  or  Seven 
Wise  Men. — This  is  one  of  the  oldest 
benevolent,  secret  organizations  in  the 
country,  and  possesses  the  attractively  mys- 
tical title  of  the  Order  of  the  Heptasoplis, 
or  Seven  Wise  Men.  It  is  far  from  being 
among  the  larger  societies  with  similar 
aims,  numbering  only  about  4,000  mem- 
bers in  eighteen  States.  This  is  all  the 
more  curious  when  one  recalls  that  it  is 
nearly  half  a  century  old,  and  possesses  an 
elaborate  and  exceptionally  beautiful  ritual, 
based  upon  some  of  the  ancient  mysticism 
which,  in  j^art,  had  remained  unapiarojDri- 
ated  by  older  and  better  known  secret 
societies.  The  organization  was  originally 
called  The  Seven  Wise  Men,  but  the  title 
was  changed  to  its  present  form,  because 
of  *'the  higher  excellence  "  impressed  upon 
its  ritual  "by  the  Hellenic  mind,''  the 
term  "  Heptasophs  "  being  derived  from  the 
Greek  Hepta,  seven,  and  Sophos,  wise.    The 


Order  gives  no  adherence  to  any  religious 
creed,  but  requires  from  its  candidates  the 
jirofession  of  a  belief  in  a  Supreme  Being. 
It  bears  aloft  the  motto,  ''In  God  We  Trust," 
admitting  to  its  mysteries  both  the  Jew 
and  the  Christian  on  the  common  ground  of 
mutual  dependence  and  universal  brother- 
hood under  the  Fatherhood  of  God.  To 
this  end  it  inculcates  the  principles  of 
''Wisdom,  Truth,  and  Benevolence."  The 
earlier  official  history  of  the  Order,  as  may 
have  been  antici2:>ated,  carried  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  society  back  to  the  Persian 
Magi,  or  Seven  Wise  Men,  the  initials  of 
the  original  title  being  given  in  this  form, 
S.  •.  W.  M.  •.,  the  missing  letters  being 
represented  by  seven  dots.  In  the  precise 
form  in  which  the  Order  "now  exists  in 
America,"  strict  succession  in  ritual,  for- 
mulge,  etc.,  from  the  Persian  Magi  was  not 
claimed.  "  In  the  transfer  from  Persia  to 
Greece,  from  Greece  to  Rome,  from  Rome 
to  Britain  and  to  the  Western  world,  it  was 
admitted  that  certain  changes  had  doubt- 
less been  made  in  the  course  of  adaptation 
to  races,  times,  civilizations,  and  forms  of 
government  ; "  but  its  legends,  traditions, 
and  teachings  were  claimed  to  be  "  as  true 
to  the  ancient  tyj^e  as  are  those  of  its  sister 
societies  to  their  venerable  predecessors." 
The  original  story  ran,  that  the  Order  of 
the  Seven  Wise  Men  was  "  introduced  into 
the  United  States"  at  New  Orleans,  La., 
April  6,  1852  ;  that  in  June  of  that  year 
the  Grand  Conclave  of  Louisiana  was  or- 
ganized, and  that  in  1854  it  was  incorpo- 
rated. It  was  not  stated  whence  the  Order 
came,  or  who  brought  it  to  New  Orleans. 
The  society  was,  however,  established  at  the 
Crescent  City,  and  a  Supreme  Conclave  was 
organized  in  1857,  in  which  year  the  latter 
was  said  to  have  held  its  first  "  communi- 
cation." This  body  was  and  is  the  Su- 
preme legislative  and  governing  authority 
of  the  Order.  The  admission  in  printed 
proceedings  that  the  Supreme  Conclave 
established  the  "  ritual,  regalia,  and  work- 
ing paraphernalia  now  in  use,"  evidently 


ORDER   OF   THE    HEPTASOPHS.  OR   SEVEN   WISE  MEN 


177 


appealed  to  later  chroniclers,  for  they  have 
since  admitted  that  the  Order  "had  its 
origin  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans."  When 
one  recalls  the  period  of  Jewish  history 
which  led  np  to  and  witnessed  the  comple- 
tion and  dedication  of  King  Solomon's  tem- 
ple, with  which  the  Fraternity  of  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons  link  so  many  of  their  tra- 
ditions ;  the  story  of  David  and  Jonathan, 
concerning  which  the  ritual  of  Odd  Fel- 
lowship has  much  to  say  ;  the  friendship 
of  Damon  and  Pythias,  which  is  so  closely 
identified  with  the  ceremonials  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  ;  the  legends  of  Eobin 
Hood  and  his  Merrie  Men,  which  have  been 
appropriated  by  the  Foresters  ;  the  man- 
ners and  customs  of  the  American  Indians, 
which  are  being  preserved  by  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men  ;  and  the  struggles  by 
the  various  Orders  of  ancient  Knighthood  to 
preserve  the  Holy  Land  from  defilement  at 
the  hand  of  the  Infidel,  which  have  given  us 
the  Masonic  Knights  Templars,  and  various 
other  secret  Orders  of  Knighthood  ;  Avhen 
one  contemplates  not  only  this  vast  amount 
of  material  in  the  hands  of  modern  secret 
society  ritualists,  but  the  use  of  Druidic 
lore  by  modern  Orders  of  Druids,  legends 
of  ancient  Shepherdry  by  existing  secret 
societies  of  shepherds,  the  symbols  of  wood- 
craft by  Modern  Woodmen,  and  of  other 
and  like  quarrying  for  material  on  Avhicli 
to  build  fraternal  and  beneficiary  secret 
organizations,  then  the  antiquity,  the  ap- 
propriateness, the  beauty,  and  the  mystical 
character  of  the  groundwork  of  the  ritual 
of  the  Order  of  the  Heptasophs  challenges 
attention.  The  Heptasophs  declared  that 
"  the  earliest  traces  of  the  Order  defy 
chronology,  reaching  far  back  into  the 
twilight  of  legend  and  tradition  clustering 
about  the  Magi  of  the  East,  which  ante- 
date the  Druids  of  Gaul  and  Britain,  and 
probably  the  Masons  who  existed  in  Judea." 
The  first  alleged  ''^ authentic  history"  of 
the  Seven  Wise  Men  is  so  ingenious  and  in- 
teresting as  to  merit  a  permanent  record. 
It  takes  the  Order  back  to  the  period  llO-l 
13 


B.C.,  and  couples  it  with  the  name  of  the 
first  Zoroaster,  who  is  said  to  have  been  the 
head  of  the  Magi  of  Persia  at  that  time. 

From  these  Magi,  Persian  kings  iuid  to  receive 
instructions  in  the  art  of  reigning  and  in  worship 
before  they  could  come  to  the  throne,  and  from  the 
most  ilhistrious  of  their  niunbers  the  king  had  to 
select  six  wise  men  as  counsellors,  who,  together 
with  the  monarch,  constituted  the  celebrated  coun- 
cil of  seven.  In  a  subterranean  cavern,  beneath 
the  royal  palace  at  Ispahan,  the  capital  of  Persia, 
was  the  only  spot  where  it  was  lawful  to  impart  the 
most  occult  mysteries  of  the  seven,  and  to  which 
the  heir  of  the  throne  was  only  admitted  for  merit 
and  not  of  right.  For  many  centuries  the  pliiloso- 
pliy  of  tlie  Seven  Wise  Men  formed  the  basis  of  the 
polity  of  the  Persian  dynasty,  and  without  whose 
advice  the  king  on  the  throne  determined  no  im- 
portant matter.  As  one  among  many  evidences  of 
this,  we  refer  to  the  language  of  Feridon  (200  years 
B.C.),  who,  under  the  advice  and  guidance  of  the 
seven,  after  twenty  years  of  exile  with  them,  suc- 
cessfully revolted  against  Zohak,  the  usurper,  and 
came  in  triumph  to  the  throne  of  his  fathers.  He 
said  (referring  to  the  S. *.  W.  M.\)  :  "Have  they 
not  for  centuries  been  the  advisers  and  counsellors 
of  the  mighty  rulers  of  this  spacious  realm  ?" 
Firdisi,  the  eminent  Persian  historian,  records  that 
in  the  time  of  the  illustrious  King  Kayomers,  who 
reigned  900  years  before  Christ,  the  council  of 
seven  were  styled  by  the  grateful  people  "  the 
earliest  distributors  of  justice."  On  his  deathbed 
this  great  ruler  exhorted  his  son  and  heir  to  the 
throne  to  adhere  to  the  teachings  of  the  Seven  Wise 
iMen,  which  was  religiously  done  by  him  and  his 
sons  after  him,  until  the  dynasty  of  the  Kayomers 
came  to  be  called  Pashdaidans,  which  means  dis- 
tributors of  justice.  It  appears  that  about  a.d. 
638,  Yezdefird,  King  of  Persia,  was  conquered  by 
Mohammed,  then  styled  ''Camel  Driver  of  Mecca," 
and  with  his  downfall  perished  the  influence  of  the 
Seven  Wise  Men  in  the  national  affairs  of  Persia. 
They,  however,  left  the  impress  of  their  philosophy 
and  wisdom  upon  the  history  of  that  country  run- 
ning through  a  succession  of  centuries,  rendering 
their  kingdom  glorious  and  its  subjects  happy  by 
(heir  devotion  to  justice  and  the  inculcation  of 
Wisdom,  Truth,  and  Benevolence  long  before  the 
brighter  and  grander  glories  of  Greece  dawned. 

This  brought  the  Order  down  to  the 
golden  era  of  Greece,  from  whence  ''the 
transfers  ...  to  Rome,  from  Rome  to 
l^ritain  and  the  Western  world  "  were  pre- 
sumed to  follow.    It  might  prove  interesting 


178 


ORDER  OF  THE  HEPTASOPHS,  OR  SEVEN  WISE  MEX 


to  speculate  on  the  possibility  of  the 
mysteries  of  the  Seven  AVise  Men  of  old 
having  been  carried  from  Rome  by  means 
of  the  workingmen's  guilds  of  the  early 
and  middle  ages  to  England,  as  an  inner 
circle  or  cult,  in  the  recesses,  as  it  were, 
of  ancient  craft  Masonry,  which,  some  have 
declared,  crossed  Europe  in  that  manner. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  the  original  Seven  Wise 
Men  in  America  builded  beautifully  and 
well  from  a  ritualistic  point  of  view.  That 
their  ceremonials  and  ritual  did  not  imbibe 
Freemasonry  from  Masonic  guardians  and 
protectors  on  a  secret  journey  from  Persia 
to  Greece,  through  Italy  and  iiortli  to  Eng- 
land, but  acquired  it  at  New  Orleans,  where 
the  Society  was  formed,  may  be  accepted 
as  a  fact.*  That  it  did  acquire  Masonic 
traditions  and  symbols  is  in  part  shown  in 
its  seven-pointed  star  enclosing  a  seven- 
branched  candlestick,  the  All-Seeing  Eye, 
the  ark  and  the  altar,  its  groups  of  seven, 
the  adoption  of  a  three-word  motto,  and 
other  features.  Efforts  to  learn  more  of 
the  origin  of  the  Order  than  its  officials 
could  furnish  have  been  fairly  successful. 
The  early  history  of  modern  secret  societies 
has  too  frequently  been  fragmentary  be- 
cause of  lack  of  interest  in  compiling,  or 
care  in  preserving,  records.  An  examina- 
tion of  the  "Greek  letter,"  or  college 
secret  society  system,  reveals  the  Mystical 

*  In  a  letter  from  George  W.  "Wright,  Supreme 
Secretary,  S.".  W.  M.'.,  Xovember  30,  1896,  it  is 
stated  :  "  The  Order  was  founded  at  Xew  Orleans, 
April  6,  1852,  by  Alexander  Leonard  Saunders,  a 
resident  of  that  city,  and  prominent  Freemasons, 
among  the  earlier  members  being  ex-governors, 
ex-mayors,  etc."  In  1855  Mr.  Saunders  "  moved  to 
Paducah,  Ky.,  where  his  son  published  a  newspa- 
per. It  was  understood  that  he  died  in  New  York 
city  in  1869."  Members  of  the  Order  tell  that  some 
of  its  ceremonials  are  based  on  Grecian  liistory. 
This  impress  of  "Hellenic  influence"  is  natural 
when  a  connection  between  this  society  and  the 
college  fraternity  M'orld  is  contemplateel.  The 
ritual  of  the  Mystical  Seven  includes  strikingly 
original  featui-es  with  traces  of  Scottish  Rite  Free- 
masonry, which  rank  it  among  the  first  of  such 
productions  by  American  college  fraternities. 


Seven  as  unique  among  college  fraterni- 
ties, in  that  it  was  not  given  a  Greek  letter 
title.  It  was  organized  at  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, Middletown,  Conn.,  in  1837,  by 
Hamilton  Brewer,  uncle  of  Judge  Brewer 
of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  fif- 
teen years  prior  to  the  appearance  of  the 
Seven  Wise  Men  at  New  Orleans.  Its 
chajDters  were  called  temples,  and  named 
after  its  emblems.  The  Wesleyan  Temple 
was  the  "  Wand  ; "'  that  at  Emory  College, 
Georgia,  where  it  was  taken  in  1841,  was 
"  Skull  and  Bones  ;  ''  and  that  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Georgia,  where  it  was  established 
in  1844,  the  "  Skull.''  In  all,  there  were 
ten  Temples,  eight  of  them  in  the  South, 
two  being  at  colleges  in  Georgia,  and  one 
each  in  Mississippi  (1857),  Louisiana  (1857), 
Tennessee  (1867),  and  Virginia  (1867). 
Temples  were  also  placed  at  two  colleges 
in  North  Carolina  as  late  as  1884.  Thus, 
out  of  eight  Southern  Temples,  two — those 
at  Emory  College,  Oxford,  Ga.,  and  the 
University  of  Georgia,  Athens — were  es- 
tablished, respectively,  eleven  and  eight 
years  prior  to  the  introduction  or  founding 
of  the  Seven  Wise  Men  at  New  Orleans  in 
1852.  The  mother  Temple,  at  Wesleyan, 
became  dormant  in  1861,  but  was  revived 
some  years  later  as  a  local  senior  society. 
With  other  surviving  Temples  it  united  in 
1887  with  and  became  absorbed  by  the 
widespread  college  secret  society.  Beta 
Theta  Pi.  The  significance  of  this  refer- 
ence to  the  first  college  secret  society  to  be 
established  in  tlie  Soutli  *  is  due  merely  to 
two  of  its  Temples  having  been  j^laced  in 
Georgia  some  years  prior  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Seven  Wise  Men  at  New 
Orleans  and  the  strength  of  the  society 
haying  been  largely  at  the  South.  Baird, 
the  author  of  "  American  College  Fraterni- 
ties,'' says  of  the  Mystical  Seven  : 

The  customs  of  the  Fraternity  were  quaint  and 
interesting.  Much  is  made  of  the  number  "7," 
and  the  membership  in  each  Cliapter  was  for  many 

*  Baird's  American  College  Fraternities,  New 
York,  4tli  edition,  p.  60. 


ORDER  OF  THE  HEPTASOPHS,  OR  SEVEN  WISE  MEN 


179 


years  retained  at  that  figure,  or  a  multiple  of  it. 
The  badge  of  the  Fraternity  is  a  seven-pointed 
star,  each  point  containing  a  Hebrew  letter  ;  within 
the  centre  field  of  the  star  is  displayed  a  caiddron 
and  ladle  over  a  bundle  of  burning  faggots,  encir- 
cled by  a  snake.  The  color  of  the  J^raternity  is 
white,  and  each  Chapter  was  assigned  one  of  the 
primary  colors."  ^ 

The  conclusion  is,  therefore,  suggested 
tliat  graduate  or  other  members  of  tlic 
Mystical  Seven,  or  of  the  Rainbow  Society, 
a  college  society  originating  at  Oxford, 
Miss.,  in  1848,  and  strongly  resembling  the 
Mystical  Seven,  were,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
responsible  for  the  birth  of  the  Seven  Wise 
Men,  especially  when  secret  and  jiublic 
characteristics  of  the  two  societies  are 
found  to  have  had  so  much  in  common. 
Even  the  Greek  letter  nomenclature  of 
various  subordinate  bodies  is  or  has  been 
similar  in  both  organizations.  It  was  the 
"  Zeta "  Conclave  of  the  Heptasophs,  or 
Seven  Wise  Men,  in  Baltimore,  from  which 
sprung  the  Improved  Order  of  Heptasophs 
in  1878.  It  is  unnecessary  to  explain  why 
resemblances  of  the  ritual  of  the  Mystical 
Seven  (now  incorporated  within  the  Beta 
Theta  Pi)  to  that  of  the  Heptasophs,  or 
Seven  Wise  Men,  cannot  be  given  at  length  ; 
but  they  leave  little  room  for  doubt  that 
the  benevolent,  and  afterward  beneficiary, 
secret  society,  the  Heptasophs  or  Seven 
Wise  Men,  of  1852,  is  an  indirect  de- 
scendant of  the  Mystical  Seven  college  fra- 
ternity, founded  in  1837.  During  the 
period  1830-1840  the  birth  and  growth  of 
college  and  other  secret  societies  were  no- 
ticeable, due  in  part  to  the  reaction  which 
followed  the  anti-Masonic  agitation.  The 
latter  brought  before  the  public,  as  never 
before,  the  whole  subject  of  secret  societies, 
their  ceremonials  and  objects,  with  the  re- 
sult that  much  not  secret,  but  which  had 
not  been  discussed  out  of  Lodge  rooms, 
found  its  way  into  daily  papers,  almanacs, 
pamphlets,  and  other  publications,  late  in 
the  second  and  early  in  the  third  decade 
of  this  century.  When  the  storm  raised 
by  the  ''good  enough  Morgan  until  after 


election  "  blew  over,  there  was  a  reaction. 
At  Hamilton  College,  N.  Y.,  in  1832,  the 
Alpha  Delta  Phi  was  born,  one  of  the  first 
of  the  great  college  fraternities,  and  in  the 
same  year,  at  Yale  College,  Skull  and 
Bones,  the  famous  local  senior  society,  first 
saw  the  light ;  Psi  Upsilon  made  its  ap- 
pearance in  1833,  at  Union  College,  stimu- 
lated by  a  desire  to  rival  Kappa  Alpha, 
Sigma  Phi,  and  Delta  Phi,  which  had  been 
founded  there  seven  or  eight  years  before, 
after  which  the  Mystical  Seven  appeared 
at  Wesleyan,  with  a  ritual,  as  explained, 
having  distinct  Masonic  thumb-marks.* 
It  was  about  this  period,  also,  that  tlie 
Ancient  Order  of  Foresters  was  introduced 
into  the  United  States  from  England,  and 
that  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Afen,  of 
distinctly  American  origin,  was  revived 
and  entered  on  a  career  of  prolonged  pros- 
perity. Coincident  with  these  evidences 
of  appropriation  of  the  secret  society  idea 
by  the  general  jiublic  as  well  as  by  college 
students,  the  Freemasons  and  the  Odd 
Fellows  were  enjoying  seasons  of  renewed 
interest  and  rapidly  increasing  member- 
shij).  It  was  on  this  wave  that  the  Mysti- 
cal Seven  floated  out  to  sea,  and  from  it 
undoubtedly  arose,  substantially  as  out- 
lined, the  Seven  Wise  Men,  afterwards  re- 
christened  Order  of  the  Heptasophs,  or 
Seven  Wise  Men,  the  first  general  secret 
society,  so  far  as  learned,  to  find  its  origin 
in  one  of  the  American  college  fraternities. 
Several  of  the  larger  and  better  known  col- 
lege secret  societies  have  found  their  inspi- 
ration in,  or  have  been  established  by  Free- 
masons, Odd  Fellows,  Foresters,  and  other 
general  fraternities  ;  but  the  springing  of 
the  Seven  AVise  Men  from  the  Mystical 
Seven,  which  fact  is,  apparently,  known  to 
or  ajipreciated  by  few,  if  any,  of  its  living 
members,  marks  the  incident  as  unique 
and  warrants  the  space  given  it.  The 
earlier  growth  of  the  Heptasojihs,  or  Seven 

*  This  could  be  made  plain  to  any  "mystic" 
who  is  also  a  Scottish  Rite  Freemason,  S.'.  P.". 
R.-.  S.-. 


180 


ORDER   OF   THE   IROQUOIS 


Wise  Men,  was  principally  in  the  Southern 
States,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
War  it  naturally  lost  many  of  its  members 
and  much  of  its  influence.  It  liad  always 
been  conservative,  and  little  effort  had  been 
made  to  carry  it  north,  east,  or  west.  Its 
ritualistic  work  now  consists  of  an  intro- 
ductony  degree,  with  beautiful  scenes  and 
impressive  ceremonies,  designed  to  teach 
due  reverence  for  the  Supreme  Archon  of 
the  Universe  and  the  beauties  of  a  blame- 
less life,  whicli  "  never  fails  to  make  a  last- 
ing impression  on  the  initiates,''  and  three 
additional  degrees,  emblematic  of  the  vicis- 
situdes encountered  in  pursuing  the  course 
of  duty.  To  satisfy  the  modern  demand 
for  a  military  feature,  a  uniformed  rank  has 
been  introduced,  but  membership  in  it  is 
not  compulsory.  The  life  insurance  branch 
was  established  in  1880.  It  is  called  the 
endowment  rank,  and  is  composed  of 
members  in  good  standing  who  desire  to 
join  and  can  pass  the  medical  examination. 
The  amount  paid  beneficiaries  is  1300,  and 
the  total  membership  is  about  1,000.  The 
Order  has  also  established  what  is  known  as 
the  Heptasophian  Mutual  Benefit  Fund,  to 
give  aid  to  widows,  heirs,  or  assignees  of 
deceased  members  to  the  amount  of  $500, 
the  management  being  in  the  hands  of  a 
Board  of  Directors  formed  of  officers  of 
the  Supreme  Conclave.  Wives  of  members 
are  also  eligible  to  membership  in  the  Fund, 
which  is  met  by  an  assessment  of  twenty- 
five  cents. 

Membership  in  the  Order  is  limited  to 
white  men  of  good  moral  character,  be- 
lievers in  a  Supreme  Being,  2:)ossessed  of 
some  known  reputable  means  of  support, 
free  from  any  mental  or  physical  infirmity, 
and  having  sufficient  education  to  sign 
their  own  applications  for  membership. 
No  person  under  eighteen  years  of  age  can 
be  admitted.  Each  Conclave  is  allowed  to 
determine  the  maximum  age  of  applicants. 
There  is  no  auxiliary  branch  for  women. 
The  organization  of  the  society  is  similar 
to  that  of  other  well-known  like  societies. 


consisting  of  Subordinate  Conclaves  acting 
under  charters  issued  by  Grand  Conclaves, 
or  by  the  Supreme  Conclave  when  in 
territory  where  Grand  Conclaves  have  not 
been  formed.  Grand  (State)  Conclaves 
are  composed  of  Past  Archons  (presiding 
and  former  presiding  officers)  of  subordi- 
nate Conclaves,  and  the  Supreme  Conclave  is 
made  up  of  Past  Grand  Archons.  After  the 
conclusion  of  the  Civil  War  the  Order  began 
to  grow  again,  and  early  in  the  seventies  took 
on  something  like  a  rapid  increase  of  mem- 
bership. In  1872  it  provided  that  Conclaves 
might  arrange  to  pay  benefits  at  option. 
Prior  to  that  year  the  Order  had  been 
benevolent  rather  than  beneficiary,  and  its 
membership  had  remained  small.  Its  total 
of  about  4,000  members,  within  a  year  or 
two,  is  the  largest  in  its  history.  The  busi- 
ness depression  (1873  to  1879)  checked  its 
growth,  after  which  a  movement  gained 
headway  in  favor  of  a  j^lan  for  the  general 
payment  of  death  benefits.  This  excited 
opposition,  and  a  number  of  brethren  of 
Zeta  Conclave,  Baltimore,  becoming  dis- 
satisfied with  a  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Conclave,  the  result  was  a  schism,  a  number 
of  members  leaving  in  1878  to  found  the 
Improved  Order  of  Heptasophs.  The  an- 
tagonism between  the  two  Orders  was  con- 
spicuous for  a  few  years,  but  gradually  died 
out.  The  parent  society  has  continued  its 
way  conservatively,  but,  as  explained,  has 
vindicated  the  position  of  some  of  its  former 
members  by  adopting,  in  1880,  the  system  of 
payment  of  death  benefits  by  means  of 
assessments.  While  its  membership  is  not 
as  large  as  that  of  its  offspring,  its  paths 
are  those  of  peace,  and  its  prosperity  is 
attested  by  the  loyalty  of  its  members. 

Order  of  the  Iroquois. — Organized  June 
26,  1896,  by  some  of  the  representative 
citizens  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  among  them  Dr. 
Ernest  Wende,  Health  Commissioner  ;  C. 
Lee  Abell  ;  Walter  A.  Eice,  its  Supreme 
Secretary  ;  D.  Clark  Kalph,  and  others,  a 
fraternal  beneficiary  society  for  men  only, 
the   ritualistic   work    of    which    seeks    to 


ORDER   OF   SELECT    FRIENDS 


181 


perpetuate  tlie  name  and  fame  of  tlic  Iro- 
quois Confederation,  so  intimately  associ- 
ated with  the  early  history  of  the  country. 
What  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men  have 
done  for  the  Delaware  Tribe  the  Lenni 
Lenape,  the  Order  of  the  Iroquois  seeks 
to  do  for  the  Tribe  from  which  it  takes 
its  name.  The  society,  wliilo  distinctly 
patriotic  in  its  teachings,  demands  no 
religions  or  political  tests  from  those  who 
seek  to  join  it.  The  prospectus  of  the 
Order  bears  upon  the  title  page  a  cut  of  the 
noted  Indian  chief  and  orator.  Red  Jacket, 
who  was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
figures  in  the  Iroquois  Confederation. 
The  cut  of  Red  Jacket  is  also  used  as  the 
design  of  the  Supreme  Lodge  Seal  and  for 
gold  buttons  worn  by  members.  The  bene- 
ficiary department  presents  a  plan  that  is 
easy  to  understand.  Its  feature  is  a  table 
of  certificates  graded  according  to  ages. 
Only  men  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and 
fifty-five  are  admitted  to  membership. 
The  average  benefit  certificate  is  $1,500, 
and  all  members  pay  regular  dues  of  II  per 
month,  or  $12  per  annum. 

Another  feature  is  the  accumulation  of  a 
reserve  fund  for  the  payment  of  benefits 
in  case  of  necessity.  The  name  of  John 
E.  Pound,  Past  Snpreme  Regent  of  the 
Royal  Arcannm,  is  at  the  head  of  the 
charter  list  of  the  Order  of  the  Iroquois. 
The  government  of  the  Order  is  based* 
upon  that  of  local,  or  subordinate  Lodges  ; 
State,  or  Grand  Lodges  and  a  national, 
or  Supreme  Lodge.  The  first  Lodge  was 
organized  with  over  one  hundred  charter 
members,  and  is  known  as  Red  Jacket, 
No.  1.  In  the  first  eight  months  the 
Order  received  over  500  applications  for 
membership. 

Order  of  Red  Cross  and  Kiiigrhts  of 
the  Red  Cross. — Usually  referred  to  as 
Knights  of  the  Red  Cross,  founded  in 
1879  by  memJaers  of  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  AVorkmen  and  other  similar  so- 
cieties as  a  fraternal  beneficiary  organiza- 
tion, having  for  its  fundamental  principle. 


charity,  and  for  its  motto,  "Omnia  pro 
Caritate."  Its  ritual  .is  based  on  Biblical 
incidents,  and  from  the  fact  that  both  men 
and  women  are  admitted  as  members,  it 
may  be  inferred  that  its  title  constitutes 
about  all  the  similarity  there  is  between  its 
ritual  and  rituals  of  Masonic  and  other  Or- 
ders of  the  Red  Cross.  It  pays  death  bene- 
fits and  numbers  about  7,000  members,  most 
of  Avliich  are  residents  of  central  Western 
States.  More  than  $200,000  has  been 
paid  to  beneficiaries  since  the  society  M'as 
founded.  The  emblem  is  as  pretentious  as 
those  of  some  older  and  better  known 
Orders  of  the  Red  Cross,  consisting  of  a 
red  Greek  cross  surmounted  by  a  crown, 
a  white  five-pointed  star  in  the  centre,  with 
the  motto  of  the  Order  on  a  blue  band  en- 
circling it.  The  similarity  between  this 
design  and  the  emblem  of  the  Order  of  the 
Golden  Cross,  a  like  organization,  founded 
by  Freemasons  in  187G,  is  suggestive,  but 
no  particulars  are  at  hand  to  show  a  direct 
relationship. 

Order  of  Select  Friends. — One  of  the 
several  fraternal  beneficiary  Orders  of 
"  Friends,"  inspired,  directly  or  otherwise, 
by  the  Order  of  Chosen  Friends.  It  was 
organized  in  Kansas  in  1888  and  incor- 
])orated  under  the  laws  of  that  State,  to  do 
a  fraternal  insurance  business  in  all  States, 
except  those  subject  to  yellow  fever  epi- 
demic. It  issues  death  benefit  certificates 
for  $1,000,  $2,000,  or  $3,000  ;  pays  sick, 
disability,  and  old  age  benefits  ;  and  admits 
men  and  women  between  eighteen  and  fifty 
years  of  age  to  membership  on  equal  terms. 
Followers  of  certain  extra  hazardous  occu- 
pations are  not  eligil)]e  to  mem])ership. 
Subordinate  Lodges  are  governed  direct  by 
the  Supreme  Lodge.  Assessments  to  meet 
death  benefits  are  graded  according  to  age 
at  time  of  joining  (thirty-five  cents  per 
$1,000  at  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  seventy- 
five  cents  at  fifty  years),  and  are  not  in- 
creased with  advancing  years.  The  Order 
has  paid  over  $200,000  to  beneficiaries  since 
it  was  founded.     Its  motto  is  "  Friendship, 


182 


ORDER   OF  THE   SANHEDRIM 


Hope,  and  Protection."  The  total  mem- 
bersliip  is  over  5,0Q0,  relatively  the  larger 
proportion  being  in  Kansas.  (See  Order  of 
Chosen  Friends.) 

Order  of  the  Sauhedrim. — Organized 
at  Detroit,  July  2G,  1887.  A  beneficiary 
society  of  members  of  the  press  and  others 
in  Michigan  and  elsewhere.  It  is  divided 
into  Priests,  Elders,  and  Scribes,  together 
with  ''one  who  sits  in  Moses'  seat."  The 
National  Sanhedrim  is  the  governing  body. 
There  are  also  State  Sanhedrims  and  sub- 
ordinate or  little  Sanhedrims. 

Order  of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem.— 
''  Permanently  established  ''  in  America  in 
1869,  where  it  was  introduced  into  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania,  according  to  its 
official  legend,  by  Albert  Gross  of  New- 
castle-on-Tyne,  England.  At  that  period 
it  was  known  as  the  Knights  of  the  Star  of 
Bethlehem.  The  Grand  Commandery  of 
Pennsylvania  was  instituted  in  1870,  and 
the  Eminent  Grand  Commandery  of  North 
America  in  1871.  The  Order  prospered  for 
several  years,  but  fell  behind  in  membership 
between  1878  and  1884,  when  an  entire 
change  was  made  in  the  officers,  and  the  so- 
ciety reincorporated  under  its  present  title. 
The  headquarters  are  at  Detroit,  in  which 
city  there  are  sixteen  Lodges  of  the  Order. 
It  exists  in  nineteen  States  of  the  Union 
and  reports  a  total  membership  of  more 
than  seventeen  thousand  men  and  women. 
The  objects  of  the  society  are  to  unite  ac- 
ceptable men  and  women  who  are  respec- 
tively eighteen  and  sixteen  years  of  age  or 
over,  and  believers  in  a  Supreme  Being,  in 
social  and  fraternal  bonds,  to  "perpetuate 
the  traditions  of  the  Order;"  pay  death, 
sick,  accident,  and  disability  benefits ;  to 
defend  the  life,  limb,  and  reputation  of 
members  from  unjust  assault ;  and  to  assist 
members  to  obtain  employment  and  to 
settle  disputes  by  arbitration.  Members 
in  arrears  for  dues  lose  the  right  to  speak 
and  vote  at  meetings,  and  forfeit  pecuniary 
benefits,  but  are  not  debarred  from  the 
social  advantages  of  Lodge  meetings.  "  The 


government  of  the  Order  in  America"  con- 
sists of  the  Eminent  Grand  Commandery, 
Grand  Councils,  Uniformed  Conclaves,  and 
Subordinate  Lodges.  Some  of  the  official 
history  of  the  organization,  prior  to  its 
introduction  into  the  United  States,  par- 
ticularly the  more  recent  portion  of  it,  is 
probably  founded  on  fact.  Much  of  it, 
particularly  that  which  reaches  far  back 
into  the  distant  past,  would  seem  to  rank 
with  traditions  once  current,  which  brought 
Entered  Apprentices,  Fellowcrafts,  and 
Master  Masons  in  Masonic  Lodges,  organ- 
ized as  at  present,  in  an  unbroken  line 
down  to  to-day,  from  the  building  of  King 
Solomon's  temple. 

The  story  of  the  Bethlehemites,  much 
abridged,  states  that  it  is  '"'believed  to  have 
been  originated  in  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era,"  exact  date  unknown,  '''as 
all  records  prior  to  the  thirteenth  century 
have  been  entirely  destroyed."  In  the 
thirteenth  century,  we  are  told,  '"it  was  an 
order  of  monks  called  the  Bethlehemites, 
who  dressed  like  the  Dominicans,  and 
wore  a  five-pointed  star  on  the  left  breast," 
.  .  .  ''.in  commemoration  of  the  star  that 
shone  over  Bethlehem,"  etc.  "In  the 
fourteenth  century  it  was  a  powerful  Order 
in  England,"  and  during  the  next  two  hun- 
dred years  "  seems  to  have  consisted  of  two 
branches,  the  Monastic  and  the  Knightly," 
evidences  of  which,  it  is  declared,  appear  in 
the  ritualistic  work  in  use  to-day.  It  seems 
unfortunate  that  the  expression,  "  Star  of 
Bethlehem  tradition  informs  us,"  or  some- 
thing similar,  is  not  prefixed  to  the  histori- 
cal revelations  made.  It  is  probably  true 
that  "  the  time  when  the  Order  in  France 
and  Spain  ceased  to  be  purely  Monastic, 
and  became  a  semi-military  organization^ 
will  never  be  known."  Other  extracts  in- 
clude those  which  identify  the  Order  with 
the  AYaldenses  in  1260,  and  state  that 
many  of  the  persecuted  meinbers  of  the 
Order  of  the  Temple,  after  its  destruction 
by  Clement  v.,  in  1313,  "  united  with  other 
Orders;"   "that   there   are    good   reasons 


ORDER   OF    rXITED   COMMERCIAL   TRAVELERS   OF   AMERICA 


183 


for  believing  that  quite  a  number  united 
with  the  Bethlehemites,  or  Kniglits  of  the 
Star  of  Bethlehem."  What  the  "good 
reasons  are  "  is  left  to  conjecture,  which  is 
to  be  regretted  when  one  realizes  this  new 
complication  jDut  upon  the  various  theories 
which  have  been  advanced  to  show  a  con- 
nection between  the  Knights  Templars  of 
to-day  and  their  fraters  who  were  person- 
ally acquainted  with  Jacques  de  Molay, 
Godfrey  de  Bouillon,  and  the  rest.  The 
Bethlehemite  legend  also  relates  that  the 
Knights  of  Bethlehem  (Equites  Bethlehe- 
mensis)  were  placed  under  the  ban  of  the 
Inquisition  at  Salamanca  in  1359  ;  that 
the  Order  was  introduced  into  France  by 
Sir  Jean  Lodet,  in  1470,  where  it  was  exter- 
minated by  the  massacre  of  1572,  and  that 
it  was  brought  to  England  from  Spain,  about 
1473,  by  George  Henry  Percy.  Nothing  was 
heard  of  it  there,  however,  ''  until  1571," 
by  which  time  the  Monastic  and  Knightly 
branches  "had  united  and  become  a  benevo- 
lent and  scientific  Order."  Here  there  is 
a  gap  of  180  years,  when  it  is  related  that 
Sir  Henry  Seymour  succeeded  Sir  Herman 
Oviedio  as  Grand  Commander,  and  after 
him  others  at  reasonably  short  intervals. 
As  women  Avere  admitted  to  some  com- 
manderies  and  not  to  others,  a  schism  took 
place  in  1813,  the  seceding  party,  presum- 
ably those  who  objected  to  women  as 
members,  "  uniting  with  others  at  Leeds  to 
form  the  '  Eoyal  Foresters.'  "  This  will  in- 
terest the  Ancient  Order  of  Foresters,  who 
omit  all  reference  to  this  in  their  account  of 
the  origin  of  their  society.  By  1857  it  is 
declared  the  Order  was  well  established 
throughout  England,  Scotland,  and  North 
Ireland,  but  it  declined  in  membership  in 
later  years,  because  each  commandery  was 
"made  a  Grand  Commandery  unto  itself," 
and  because,  owing  to  the  semi-religious 
character  of  the  Order,  it  refused  to  be  en- 
rolled under  the  friendly  societies  act.  It 
is  of  interest  to  learn  that  the  Knights  of 
Bethlehem  was  first  introduced  into  America 
in  1G91  by  Giles  Corey  of  London,  during 


the  war  between  England  and  France,  but 
was  suppressed  by  the  colonial  authorities  ; 
and  also  that  it  was  brought  to  New 
York  city  by  John  Bell  in  1849  or  1850, 
who  established  several  commanderies  at 
that  city  in  1S51,  which  did  not  long  sur- 
vive. A  reference  to  the  third  and  success- 
ful effort  to  bring  this  ancient  society  to 
America  has  been  given.  The  ritual  of  the 
American  branch  is  said  to  retain  only  the 
practical  teachings  on  truth,  fraternity, 
charity  and  the  moral  law,  drawn  from  the 
ancient  ritual.  ;   • 

There  is  an  auxiliary  society  within  the 
Order  of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem,  known  as 
the  Eastern  Star  Benevolent  Fund  of 
America,  organized  in  1893,  designed  to 
increase  the  pecuniary  benefits  available  to 
members  of  the  Order.  Only  members 
who  have  attained  the  Eastern  Star  degree 
may  join  it.  (See  Shepherds  of  Bethlehem 
and  Shepherds  of  America.) 

Order  of  the  Triang^le. — Registered  in 
the  United  States  census  reports  for  1890  as 
a  mutual  assessment  beneficiary  society,  with 
headquarters  in  Brooklyn.  Nothing  is 
learned  of  it  there  to-day. 

Order  of  True  Frieiid.s. — Organized  at 
New  York  in  1886  to  insure  its  members 
by  means  of  mutual  assessments.  It  paid 
death  benefits  of  ^200,  and  weekly  sick 
benefits  of  from  12.50  to  85.00.  Letters 
addressed  to  it  are  unanswered. 

Order  of  United  Coniiiiercial  Trav- 
elers of  America. — Organized  at  Colum- 
bus, 0.,  and  incorporated  September  25, 
1890,  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Ohio 
by  John  C.  Fenimore,  Levi  C.  Pease,  S.  H. 
Strayer,  W.  E.  Carpenter.  John  Dickey,  C. 
S.  Ammel,  F.  A.  Sells,  and  Charles  B. 
Flagg  to  unite  fraternally  commercial  trav- 
elers of  good  moral  standing,  to  assist 
members  and  those  depending  on  them, 
and  to  pay  accident,  sick,  and  death  bene- 
fits. In  case  of  sickness  members  receive 
$25  weekly  for  not  to  exceed  fifty-two 
weeks,  or  during  illness,  and  a  like  Aveekly 
benefit    during    disabilitv   on    account    uf 


184 


ORDER   OF   UNITED   FRIENDS 


accident.  The  sum  of  $5,000  is  paid  to  bene- 
ficiaries of  a  deceased  member.  Tlie  total 
membership  of  the  Order  is  about  10,000. 
These  indemnity  features  have  been  main- 
tained at  an  average  cost  to  each  member  of 
$7  per  annum. 

Order  of  United  Friends. — Organized 
and  incorporated  in  New  York  State  in 
1881  by  John  C.  Nott,  Albany  ;  William 
H.  Lee  of  Boston,  Mass.  ;  A.  A.  Lamprey 
of  Lawrence,  Mass.;  0.  M.  Shedd  of  Pough- 
keepsie,  N.  Y.,  and  others.  A  secret  fi-a- 
ternal  beneficiary  society,  paying  death  and 
disability  benefits.  Men  and  women  are 
eligible  as  members.  The  ritual  is  based  on 
the  teachings  of  the  Golden  Rule,  and 
the  motto  is  "  Unity,  Friendship,  and  Se- 
curity." This  organization  was  the  out- 
come of  a  schism  in  the  Order  of  Chosen 
Friends,  and  numbers  more  than  20,000 
members.     (See  Order  of  Chosen  Friends.) 

Order  of  United  Fellowship. — Covered 
by  the  account  of  the  Golden  Rule  Alliance. 

Order  of  Unity. — A  mutual  assessment 
beneficiary  society,  organized  at  Philadel- 
phia in  1889,  by  members  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen,  by  Freemasons, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  others,  for  men 
and  women,  to  secure  the  payment  of  $500 
and  $1,000  death  benefits  and  weekly  sick 
and  accident  benefits  ranging  from  13.50  to 
130.  It  is  among  the  smaller  organizations 
of  its  class,  numbering  only  about  2,500. 
Total  benefits  paid  since  1889  amount  to 
about  $140,000.  The  Order  is  non-secta- 
rian, and  through  its  ritual  teaches  strength 
in  union,  justice  to  all,  and  protection 
through  fraternity. 

Patriarchal  Circle  of  America. — Or- 
ganized at  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  in  1880,  by 
Newell  Daniels,  General  A.  B.  Myens,  and 
six  others,  as  a  fraternal  beneficiary  society. 
It  has  3,000  members  and  confers  three  de- 
grees :  Preparatory,  Perfection,  and  the  Pa- 
triarchal Feast  and  Knighthood  ;  the  first 
two  written  by  Newell  Daniels  in  1893,  and 
the  last  prepared  by  G.  C.  Ridings,  the  Su- 
preme Secretary.    The  work  is  largely  mili- 


tary. The  colors  of  the  organization  are 
royal  purple  and  gold.  It  has  its  own  tac- 
tics for  drill  and  sword  exercise,  and  fur- 
nishes life  insurance  to  its  members,  based 
on  mutual  assessments.  Each  Temple  es- 
tablishes sick  and  funeral  benefits  at  its 
oj^tion.  The  principal  emblem  consists  of 
three  elongated  links,  connected  so  as  to 
form  a  triangle,  the  words  "Honesty,  Frater- 
nity, and  Fidelity  "  and  a  representation  of 
a  knight's  helmet  at  the  top.  The  auxil- 
iary for  women  is  called  the  Circle  of  the 
Golden  Band,  Temples  of  which  insure  the 
lives  of  its  members  and  establish  funeral 
and  sick  benefits  if  they  wish.  This  society 
was  originally  an  organization  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, formed  to  confer  "  the  new  degrees 
for  Uniformed  Patriarchs."  It  was  re]3u- 
diated  by  the  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  in 
1885  but  has  continued  to  exist  ever  since  in 
the  State  where  founded.  (See  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.) 

Pennsylvania  Order  of  Foresters. — 
See  Foresters  of  America. 

Protected  Fireside  Circle. — Organized 
at  Detroit,  Mich.  ;  a  social,  beneficiary  se- 
cret society  for  men  and  women. 

Protected  Home  Circle. — While  in  no 
way  connected  with  the  Home  Circle  of 
Massachusetts,  the  Protected  Home  Circle, 
organized  at  Sharon,  Pa.,  in  1886,  and 
chartered  under  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania, 
presents  a  similarity  in  name  and  emblem, 
the  latter  being  a  monogram  formed  of 
the  letters  P,  H,  and  C.  As  the  first- 
named  secret  fraternal  beneficiary  associa- 
tion was  formed  seven  years  before  the 
latter,  the  likenesses  between  them  suggest 
and  has  been  declared  to  amount  to  more 
than  a  coincidence.  But  it  is  certain  that 
the  Protected  Home  Circle  resembles  the 
older  society  in  no  other  way  except  in 
that  it  has  been  successful  and  in  that  it, 
like  its  prototype,  admits  both  men  and 
women  to  membership.  But  it  makes  a 
radical  departure  in  that,  by  placing  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  of  all  monthly  assessments  in 


ROYAL   AID   SOCIETY 


185 


a  reserve  fund,  it  maintains  a  fixed  rate  of 
payment  and  a  definite  number  of  assess- 
ments annually  for  each  member.  Those 
who  join  the  society  and  preserve  their 
standing  and  jiay  all  dues  and  assessments 
for  five  years  may,  at  any  time  thereafter, 
take  paid-up  certificates  for  the  amount 
whicli  their  respective  portions  of  the  re- 
serve fund  warrant,  and  thereafter,  by  sim- 
ply keeping  up  the  j)ayments  of  dues,  be 
entitled  to  the  amount  of  said  certificates  at 
death.  Tlie  society  was  founded  by  promi- 
nent members  of  the  Equitable  Aid  Union, 
the  National  Union — both  secret  assessment 
beneficiary  societies — and  of  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  possesses 
an  instructive  ritual  based  upon  biblical 
teachings.  It  pays  total  and  permanent 
disability  benefits,  death  benefits  ranging  in 
six  classes  from  $500  to  $3,000,  with  pay- 
ments adjusted  to  age,  rate,  and  risk.  Its 
motto  is  "  Safety,  Economy,  Fidelity,  and 
Purity,'*  and  its  jDrincipal  emblem  is  the 
representation  of  an  eagle  perched  on 
the  edge  of  its  nest,  guarding  its  young. 
The  fraternal  obligations  enjoined  are  cal- 
culated to  form  a  real  brotherhood,  and  its 
distinctive  feature  is.  the  requiring  of  a 
certain  number  of  payments  of  a  fixed 
amount  so  that  each  2)erson  becoming  a 
member  may  compute  the  exact  cost  of  his 
or  her  insurance  for  a  given  period.  The 
funds  are  divided  into  four  classes  for 
the  payment,  respectively,  of  death  and 
sick  benefits,  to  provide  for  the  regularity  of 
assessments  and  for  maintaining  and  con- 
ducting the  organization.  There  is  a  haz- 
ardous and  an  extra-hazardous  class  of 
occupations,  followers  of  which  are  eligible 
to  membership  at  special  rates.  Subordi- 
nate bodies  are  called  Circles,  and  the 
Order  is  governed  by  a  Supreme  Circle 
composed  of  the  founders  of  the  Society, 
otliers  elected  to  the  Supreme  Circle,  and 
representatives  from  subordinate  Circles,  as 
provided  in  the  constitution.  The  total 
amount  of  death  and  sick  benefits  paid  by 
the  Protected  Home  Circle  since  its  organi- 


zation is  about  $400,000,  and  its  total 
membership  is  over  2,000.  Its  permanent 
headquarters  is  at  Sharon,  Pa.,  but  its 
members  are  found  as  far  west  as  Missouri 
and  nortli  as  far  as  Miciiigan. 

Provideut  League  of  Aniericu. — A 
Detroit  assessment,  mutual  benefit  Order, 
referred  to  in  the  census  of  1890,  but  not 
known  to  the  postal  officials  at  Detroit  to- 
day. 

Prudent  Patricians  of  Pompeii  of  the 
United  States  of  America. — Organized  at 
Washington,  J).  C,  under  act  of  Congress, 
March  4, 1897,  tlie  first  fratermil  Ijeneficiary 
association  so  formed,  by  Dennis  T.  Flynn, 
delegate  in  Congress  from  Oklahoma  ;  Phi- 
lip Walker,  Orand  Vice-licgent  of  tlie  Royal 
Arcanum  ;  George  A.  Reynolds,  Grand 
Secretary  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks  ;  W.  J.  Palmer,  Past  Noble 
Grand  Manchester  Unity,  Independent  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows,  and  others.  Its  objects 
are  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  death 
benefits  to  white  persons  of  both  sexes  on 
an  immediate  payment  ])lan  (the  customary 
one),  or  an  annuity  payment  plan,  at  the 
rate  of  ten  per  cent,  annually  ;  to  pay 
members  a  total  and  permanent  disability 
benefit  and  also  an  old  age  benefit  ;  to 
educate  members  socially,  morally,  and  in- 
tellectually ;  to  establish  a  bureau  of  infor- 
mation for  members  to  aid  them  in  obtain- 
ing employment,  and  to  assist  each  other  in 
business.  Members  who  reach  the  age  of 
seventy  years  are -to  be  free  from  assess- 
ments and  receive  ten  per  cent,  of  the  face 
of  certificates  annually.  The  President  of 
Prudent  Patricians  is  W.  S.  Linton,  Past 
Great  Commander  of  the  Knights  of  the 
Maccabees,  of  Michigan,  and  tlie  oftico  of 
its  prothonotary  is  at  Saginaw  in  that 
State. 

Royal  Aid  Society.  —  Organized  at 
Lynn,  Mass.,  early  in  1896,  to  pay  $1,000 
and  $3,000  to  beneficiaries  of  deceased 
members,  and  maintain  the  usual  accom- 
panying social  and  fraternal  features.  It 
differs  from  most  of  the  later  societies  of 


186 


ROYAL   ARCANUM 


this  character  iu  that  it  assesses  members  at 
a  flat  rate  of  50  cents  and  $1  per  thousand 
dollars  of  insurance  at  each  death,  instead 
of  at  the  graded  rate  according  to  age,  which 
the  older  and  larger  beneficiary  fraternities 
have  generally  adopted. 

Royal  Arcanum. — One  of  the  largest 
fraternal  mutual  assessment,  beneficiary, 
and  benevolent  secret  societies  in  the 
United  States,  founded  by  Darius  Wilson, 
C.  K.  Darling,  W.  0.  Eobson,  E.  M.  Craw- 
ford, J.  A.  Oummings,  G.  W.  Blish,  W. 
Bradley,  J.  H.  Wright,  and  J.  M.  Swain, 
of  Boston  and  vicinity,  in  1877,  and  incor- 
porated as  the  Supreme  Council  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum  under  the  laws  of  the  S"fi«te 
of  Massachusetts.  Several  of  the  founders 
were  members  of  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen  and  of  the  Knights  of 
Honor  and  some  were  members  of  the 
Masonic  Fraternity  and  of  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  The  title  of 
the  society  suggests  a  '''royal  secret,"  and 
the  secret  is  declared  to  be  the  method  by 
which  to  obtain  '^ fraternal  society  'protec- 
tion '  at  less  cost  than  old  line  insurance 
companies  furnish  it."  The  Order  owns  a 
handsome  building  at  Boston,  where  the 
Supreme  or  Governing  Council  meetings 
are  held  and  where  the  general  business  of 
the  organization  is  transacted.  Subordinate 
Councils,  which  ai'e  found  throughout  the 
States  and  Territories  in  the  more  healthful 
districts  of  the  Union,  are  governed  by 
Grand  Councils,  or  by  the  Supreme  Coun- 
cil when  situated  Avhere  no  Grand  Councils 
exist,  and  the  Supreme  Council  consists  of 
its  officers  and  representatives  of  Grand 
Councils.  The  Order  is  composed  of  ac- 
ceptable men  between  twenty-one  ajid  fifty- 
five  years  of  age,  and  issues  benefit  certifi- 
cates for  $1,500  and  $3,000,  payable  at 
death.  Starting  with  nine  members  in 
1877,  its  membership  is  now  in  excess  of 
200,000,  and  it  has  paid  out,  in  death  ben- 
efits alone,  more  than  140,000,000.  Subor- 
dinate Councils  provide  funds  for  the  relief 
of  sick  or  disabled   members,  and  for  the 


necessities  of  their  families.  The  Supreme 
Council  has  charge  of  the  Widows'  and  Or- 
phans' Benefit  Fund,  as  the  life  insurance 
fund  is  called,  which  is  collected  by  and 
paid  out  on  order  of  subordinate  Councils. 
The  membership  of  the  Order,  while  drawn 
nominally  from  all  ranks  of  society,  aver- 
ages higher  than  in  many  organizations 
and  at  most  of  the  larger  centres  includes 
some  of  the  best  representatives  of  other 
fraternities,  as  well  as  of  business,  profes- 
sional and  official  life.  Its  chief  emblem  in- 
cludes a  royal  crown  Avithin  a  circle,  on  the 
circumference  of  which  are  ten  small  Mal- 
tese crosses  without  notches.  The  motto 
of  the  Order  is  "  Mercy,  Virtue,  and  Char- 
ity," which  is  mystically  referred  to  in  a 
manner  known  only  to  members. 

The  initiatory  ceremony,  which  has  been 
changed  once  or  twice,  is  quite  the  reverse 
of  that  found  in  the  American  Legion  of 
Honor,  being  an  elaborate  ceremonial 
"  well  calculated  to  impress  "  the  meaning 
of  the  motto  of  the  Order  uj^on  the  minds 
of  all  novitiates,  even  though  they  have 
passed  through  the  ordeals  required  by 
other  secret  societies.  But  the  almost  un- 
exampled jDrosperity  of  the  Royal  Arcanum 
in  its  fifth  of  a  century  of  existence  has 
not  blinded  its  leaders  to  the  necessity  for 
remodelling  its  system  of  assessments,  at 
one  time  the  best  among  those  employed 
by  like  societies  and  now  among  the  most 
advanced.  Signs  of  an  increasing  number 
of  assessments  appeared  in  1896,  and  the 
necessary  steps  were  taken  to  so  adjust  the 
method  of  collecting  them  as  to  continue 
the  success  and  prosperity  which  for  so 
many  years  marked  the  progress  of  the 
fraternity.* 

*  The  twenty-first  anniversary  of  the  society  was 
signalized  by  radical  action  looking  to  the  more 
efficient  protection  of  its  members.  This  was  done 
by  "  discarding  the  old  post-mortem  system"  ol 
assessments  at  deaths  of  members  and  establishing 
an  emergency  fund  and  "  i^rOviding  for  the  war 
hazard  "  by  laying  twenty-one  assessments  accord- 
ing to  the  existing  scale.  The  twenty-one  assess- 
ments are  based  on   expert   estimates  of  eighteen 


ROYAL   LEAGUE 


187 


In  order  to  enable  members  to  increase 
the  amount  of  their  insurance,  i>ractically 
within  the  ranks  of  the  Order,  the  Loyal 
Additional  Benefit  Association  was  formed 
in  1889  and  incorporated  in  1890  under 
the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 
Only  members  of  the  Royal  Arcanum, 
after  an  additional  medical  examination, 
are  eligible  to  join  the  Loyal  Additional, 
which  offers  benefit  certificates  payable  at 
death  for  11,000  or  $2,000  as  preferred, 
and  establishes  funds  for  the  relief  of  sick 
and  distressed  members.  William  E.  Hal- 
lenbeck  of  Jersey  City  founded  tlie  Loyal 
Additional,  which  numbers  more  than  6,000 
members.  The  Association  is  not  a  com- 
petitor of  the  Royal  Arcanum,  but  is  its 
supplement.  The  Supreme  Council  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum,  while  not  in  any  way  con- 
nected with  or  responsible  for  the  Asso- 
ciation, expressed  its  commendation  at 
its  session  in  Milwaukee,  in  1890,  of  the 
motives  that  prompted  the  organization 
and  extended  to  its  promoters  its  praise 
and  encouragement. 

Royal  Conclave  of  Knights  and  La- 
dies.— See  sketch  of  Golden  Rule  Alli- 
ance. 

Royal  Fraternal  Guardians.  — Organ- 
ized at  San  Francisco  in  December,  1805,  a 

assessments  to  meet  current  mortality  within  a 
year,  one  to  cover  war  risk,  and  two  assessments  to 
establish  an  emergency  fund.  These  assessments 
are  collected  in  twelve  equal  amounts,  thus  making  a 
regular  monthly  call.  The  new  system  was  adopted 
at  the  annual  session  of  the  Supreme  Council,  held 
at  Cleveland  in  1898  and  went  into  operation 
August  1st  in  that  year. 

By  the  new  plan,  $3,000  protection  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  calls  for  an  annual  payment  of,  or 
twelve  monthly  payments  amounting  to,  $21.12  ;  at 
thirty-one  years,  $30.24;  at  forty-one,  $45.36;  at 
fifty,  $68.40,  and  at  fifty-nino  years,  $136.56. 
These  rates  promise  to  produce  an  emergency  fund 
of  about  two-thirds  of  a  million  dollars  annually. 
The  Order  is  to  be  congratulated  on  the  wise  and 
conservative  action  it  has  taken,  the  significance  of 
which  lies  in  the  fact  that  no  similar  organization 
of  like  age  has  so  low  a  death  rate  or  is  transacting 
a  like  volume  of  business  at  so  small  an  c.xihmisc. 


regular  mutual  assessment  beneficiary  so- 
ciety. 

Royal  Fraternity,  The. — Organized  at 
Minneapolis,  October  16,  1896,  by  N.  W. 
Bloss,  C.  F.  Underbill,  H.  AV.  Hatch  and 
others,  to  pay  death  and  various  other  bene- 
fits. Women  are  not  eligible  to  membership. 
The  chief  emblem  is  composed  of  three  tri- 
angles forming  a  nine-pointed  star,  with 
other  details  understood  only  by  members. 
In  less  than  a  year  the  society  reported  a 
total  membership  of  1,500. 

Royal  Knights  of  King  David. —  Re- 
corded in  the  census  of  1890  as  a  fraternal 
beneficiary  society,  but  no  evidence  of  its 
continued  existence  has  been  obtained. 

Royal  League,  The. — A  glance  at  the 
chief  emblem  of  this  mutual  assessment 
beneficiary  fraternity  suggests  that  it  is  an 
offspring  of  the  Royal  Arcanum,  as  it  con- 
tinues the  use  of  the  word  ''royal"  in  con- 
nection with  the  motto,  ''  Virtue,  Mercy, 
and  Charity."  Inquiry  corroborates  this,  the 
founders  of  the  Royal  League,  at  Chicago, 
in  1883,  being  members  of  the  Royal  Ar- 
canum. The  former  is  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  its 
operation  is  confined  to  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois, Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  and 
all  the  States  and  Territories  west  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  north  of  the  thirty-sixth 
parallel.  It  was  evidently  organized  to 
introduce  some  modifications  of  the  then 
exceptionally  advanced  method  of  coopera- 
tive life  insurance  employed  by  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  and  bears  practically  the  same 
relationshij-)  to  the  latter  as  the  Iowa  Legion 
of  Honor  and  the  Northwestern  Legion  of 
Honor  bear  to  the  parent  fraternity,  the 
American  Legion  of  Honor.  The  Royal 
League  offers  to  unite  acceptable  men  be- 
tween twenty-one  and  forty-six  years  of  age 
to  provide  what  it  (and  the  Royal  Arcaiuuu) 
calls  a  widow's  and  orphan's  benefit  fund, 
from  which,  at  the  death  of  members,  to  pay 
$2,000  or  $4,000  to  their  families  or  depend- 
ents. The  option  of  $-3,000  or  $4,000  insur- 
ance (instead  of  $3,000  only)  constitutes  only 


188 


ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   GOOD   FELLOWS 


one  difference  between  the  two  fraternities, 
as  the  younger  introduced  a  $50  and  a  $25 
week!}'  benefit  for  permanent  disability  (to 
be  deducted  from  the  death  benefit),  to  be 
paid  at  the  request  of  the  insured  and  the 
beneficiary,  and  it  prohibited  membershiiito 
followers  of  a  long  list  of  hazardous  occupa- 
tions. Following  in  the  footste2:)s  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum,  the  League  makes  a  feature 
of  the  social  side  of  the  organization,  with 
the  reading  of  papers,  debates,  and  other 
entertainments.  The  government  of  the 
latter  is  vested  in  a  Supreme  Council,  with 
Advisory  Councils  in  States  having  the 
necessary  membership.  There  were  about 
14,000  members  at  the  end  of  the  thir- 
teenth year  of  the  society's  existence, 
during  which  period  nearly  11,000,000  had 
been  paid  to  beneficiaries. 

Royal  Society  of  Good  Fellows. — An 
incorporated  fraternal  assessment  bene- 
ficiary society,  organized  on  the  lodge 
system  in  Ehode  Island,  in  1882,  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men, Royal  Arcanum,  Knights  of  Honor,  the 
Masonic  Fraternity,  and  the